Fumio Kishida is stepping up his calls for reform of the UN system after the Security Council failed to respond to the Russian attack.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed disappointment at the United Nations Security Council’s failure to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has called for reforms that would allow the United Nations to better defend world peace and order .
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is behavior that tramples on the philosophy and principles of the UN Charter… It should never be tolerated,” Kishida told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at its annual meeting in New York City, urging a reform of a system that gives five states, including Russia, veto power in the Security Council.
“We must face the reality that the integrity of the United Nations is at risk because of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which is a member of the UN Security Council,” Kishida said in his speech to the 77th UN General Assembly. Reforms had been discussed for nearly 30 years, he said. “What we need is action for reform, not just talk.”
Japan has long sought to reform the UN Security Council as it was designed by the victors of World War II and does not reflect the reality of international society, and has been pushing a reform plan with Germany, India and Brazil since 2004. Japan will have a seat as a non-permanent member of the Security Council from January.
Kishida, who hails from Hiroshima, the first city to ever suffer a nuclear bombing, also expressed disappointment that negotiators last month failed to reach an agreement on the UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – which serves as the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament applies – after Moscow blocked the final draft.
He also condemned the threat of nuclear weapons from Russia.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and shortly thereafter Russian President Vladimir Putin indirectly mentioned the possibility of a nuclear strike.
Last month, a Russian diplomat at the United Nations said the conflict in Ukraine did not justify Russia’s use of nuclear weapons, but Moscow may decide to use its nuclear arsenal in response to “direct aggression” by NATO countries over the invasion.
“The threat of nuclear weapons, as Russia has done this time, let alone their use, poses a serious threat to the peace and security of the international community and is never acceptable,” Kishida said.
On Tuesday, Moscow-appointed officials in the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine announced plans to hold referenda on joining Russia.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who is now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said the votes would give the Kremlin more power to defend what he believed would become Russian territory.
“Trespassing on Russian territory is a crime that allows you to use all the forces of self-defense,” Medvedev said in a Telegram post.
Russia’s nuclear doctrine permits the use of such weapons if weapons of mass destruction are used against Russia or if the Russian state is threatened by conventional weapons.