The rule of law at the national and international levels - A/80/99 Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission - A/80/239 | A/80/270
🇺🇸 United States, 🇨🇳 China, 🇮🇳 India, 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇵🇰 Pakistan, 🇮🇷 Islamic Republic of Iran, 🇵🇸 State of Palestine
Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving the United States the floor. We rarely take the floor to reply to comments made by other delegations in the Sixth Committee, but we feel it is important to address statements that have been made in the course of this debate targeting Israel. This debate is meant to be focused on the rule of law at the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, a moment at which there is much positive change to celebrate relating to rule of law developments around the world over that period. In this context, we were deeply disappointed to hear so many delegations utilize this platform to level political allegations of the moment. The constructive and collaborative spirit of the Sixth Committee has been the hallmark of our work over many years. The committee has succeeded in advancing progress in international law by treating issues before it in a principled, thoughtful, and neutral manner. Statements targeting other delegations are at odds with this tradition and undermine our ability to achieve consensus and accomplish our goals. Over the course of this debate, numerous delegations prioritized unfairly singling out Israel for accusations, yet made no mention of Hamas, its horrific terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, or its numerous other atrocities. Only a handful of interventions have welcomed the intensive and successful efforts on a peace plan that have been underway and culminated in the deal announced by President Trump last night. Though we appreciate those delegations that did. The United States has repeatedly and consistently made clear, including in a statement in the Security Council earlier this week, that it rejects as false and inflammatory politicized accusations of genocide against Israel. And the United States has emphasized that Israel has taken numerous measures to limit harm to civilians and to address humanitarian needs. The United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself. For delegations focused on the situation in Gaza, the rightful focus now should be last night's announcement that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of the peace plan. As President Trump stated, this means all hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable, and lasting peace. Mediators from Qatar. Egypt and Turkey contributed to this historic development, and we call on all Member States to give the plan their full support. Thank you, Madam Chair. muchas gracias por su Thank you very much, Madam, for your statement.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This morning, the representative of the Philippines brought up the South China Sea Arbitration. On this matter, I need to make some clarification. The South China Sea arbitration was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines in violation of the principle of state consent and in breach of international law, including ONCLOS. The arbitrary tribunal exercised the jurisdiction ultra varies and rendered the award in disregard of law, hence its award is illegal now and void. China neither accepts nor recognizes the relevant award and will never accept any claims or actions based on the award. China's rights protection and law enforcement activities in waters under its restriction are legitimate and justified and beyond reproach. China consistently advocates for the peaceful settlement of disputes and will continue to work with countries directly concerned to resolve relevant disputes through negotiation and consultation in line with international law. Thank you.
Chair, I exercise the right of reply to the habitual Pakistani gimmick of misusing the United Nations and its platforms for the jingoistic propaganda and misinformation. Pakistan has the dubious distinction of pioneering assembly line production of terrorists and establishing the supply chains of modern day global terrorism. Fountainheads of terror, violence, bigotry, intolerance, and fear. Originate and thrive in that country. India has confronted this challenge since independence, having a neighbor that is an epicenter of global terrorism. For decades now, major international terrorist attacks are traced back to Pakistan. Chair, a country that proclaims to advocate for the rule of law, has at the UN Security Council on 25 April 2025 actively worked to remove a reference to the resistance front. A Pakistani-sponsored terror outfit that had taken responsibility for carrying out the barbaric massacre of tourists in Pehelgam. Chair, India exercised its legitimate right to defend its people against terrorism and brought its organizers and perpetrators to justice. The world saw images of terrorists slain in Baha'valpur and Muritke terror complexes by Indian forces during Operation Sindur. When senior Pakistani military and civilian officials publicly glorify and pay homage to such notorious terrorists, pious words in the halls of the United Nations ring hollow and are rendered meaningless. We have also heard the representative of Pakistan advance a bizarre account of the recent conflict with India. The record on this matter is clear. Till 9th of May, Pakistan was threatening more attacks on India, but on 10th May, the Pakistani military called our military directly and pleaded for a cessation to the fighting. The destruction caused to multiple Pakistani air bases by the Indian operation, including images of destroyed runways and burnt out hangars, are in the public domain. The truth is that, as in the past, Pakistan is responsible for a terrorist attack on innocent civilians in India. We have exercised the right to defend our people against such actions and have brought the organizers and perpetrators to justice. Let there be no doubt, this is a new normal. And India will act decisively to counter cross border terrorism and protect its citizens. Thank you, Chair. Muchas gracias a la distinguida delegación,
Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving me the floor. We live at a time when words are cheap. In an age of social media and identity politics, the temptation to reach for the most outrageous term, to vilify and demonize, has become irresistible for many. But if there is a place where words should still matter, where facts and truth should still matter, it is surely this legal forum. Unfortunately, we once again witness how this legal forum is abused for narrow political agendas. While we believe in the freedom of speech, and that any member state or observer of the General Assembly has the right to use their allotted time to express their own views and address their own achievements under the rule of law, the politicization of this particular forum has left us with no choice but to exercise our right of reply and set the record straight. So much valuable time meant for introspection has been instead misused in this room to make hollow accusations against the State of Israel, while not one mention of the heinous terrorist organization, Hamas, was made. We ask each and every one of the representatives here today why you have failed in your statements to condemn a murderous terrorist organization which, as a strategy, weaponizes and undermines the rule of law against the international community, against the people of Israel, and against the population of Gaza alike. Madam Chair, we vehemently reject the libelous accusations of genocide, a term that was created to describe the crime of crimes, one which the Jewish people themselves have been victims of. It is absurd to weaponize the term genocide against a democratic and law abiding state that, inter alia, alerts civilian populations prior to attacks, seeks to temporarily evacuate civilians from harm's way, and invests immense resources and efforts into the facilitation of entry of humanitarian aid. These measures, among many others, serve to demonstrate Israel's complete commitment to international law. Hamas and her allies have repeatedly announced their intention to repeat the October 7th massacre and their commitment to the annihilation of the State of Israel. It is Hamas that has abused the civilian infrastructure of Gaza as a tool for its illegal campaign of violence, and the people of Gaza as a shield to hide behind. It is Hamas that is primarily responsible for the destruction in Gaza. We must reiterate, as we have time and time again, Israel is not fighting against the Palestinian, Lebanese, Iranian, or any other population. Israel is fighting to remove and eradicate the threat of terrorism from and around its borders. The distortion of the term genocide negatively affects the entire international community, as it ultimately cheapens and even strips principal principles and terms of international law from their intended meaning and moral force, with untold damage to the international legal order and the rule of law. Just this morning we addressed this esteemed forum with the hopeful news of the agreement that has finally been reached in Gaza. The State of Israel has consistently stated that once the hostages are returned and Hamas lays down its arms, the fighting will stop. Now is the time to look to the future and ensure that the dismantling of Hamas, of its military capabilities, and the de radicalization of the Gaza Strip will strengthen the rule of law in the region. So much valuable time has been wasted in this room to make hollow accusations against the State of Israel, and not a single moment was dedicated to acknowledge the October 7th massacre, condemn Hamas, or even mention the 48 hostages still in Gaza. Even in the face of this morning's substantial, hopeful news, many speakers in this room actively chose to not update their speeches. We ask you whether this was because you were more concerned with your narrow political agendas focused upon the demonization of the state of Israel rather than the actual chance for the s cessation of hostilities in the region. I thank you, Mr. Chair. Madam Chair. agradezco al distinguido delegado,
Um thank you Madam Chair. We are pleased to see you chairing this meeting. On the remarks on the South China Sea arbitration, the Philippine wish the Philippines wishes to respond in the context of the Charter and International Law in light of our debate's theme on the rule of law at the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations. We recall that the peoples of the United Nations, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, fashioned the architecture to bring about peaceful settlement of disputes in conformity with justice and international law, as set out in Inter alia Article 11, Article 23, and 24 of the Charter, which oblige members to settle international disputes by peaceful means so that peace, security, and justice are not endangered and to refrain from the threat or use of force. Chapter 6 of the Charter further sets out the modes for the Pacific settlement of disputes. Almost 40 years later, During the Cold War, amidst increasing tensions and arms races, the General Assembly reinforced these core principles of the Charter through the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes, a General Assembly Declaration adopted by consensus on 15 November 1982, which elaborates how states could implement Article 2.3 and chapter 6 of the UN Charter. Upon the initiative of the non-aligned states, many from the developing world and many recently decolonized, the Manila Declaration reaffirmed the duty of states to settle disputes peacefully and clarified and strengthened the UN Charter's provisions on peaceful settlement, emphasizing that force and coercion have no place in international relations. The Declaration reaffirms and elaborates key obligations under the UN Charter, reiterating the duty that every state has a duty to seek peaceful resolution, that states must negotiate in good faith and cannot merely engage in talks for show or delay. That states must refrain from any action that could aggravate or extend disputes, that peaceful settlement of disputes must be based on respect for international law, and that states must base their behavior on international law, not power politics. Consistent with the Charter and guided by the spirit of Manila Declaration, in line with the 1982 UN clause, Manila brought the case for peaceful settlement precisely to settle it in accordance with international law and not power politics. It bears recalling what the arbitral award contains. The tribunal ruled that the China's 9-line claim, which encompasses almost the entire South China Sea, has no legal basis under UNCLOS. It found no evidence that China has historic rights to resources within the areas it claims beyond the limits provided by UNCLOS. Thus, any historic claims were extinguished when China became state party to UNCLOS. By examining and ruling on the nature of features in the South China Sea, the award drastically reduced overlapping maritime entitlements. The tribunal further found that the Philippine sovereign rights under UNPLOS were violated when within the Philippines EEZ China interfered with Philippine fishing and other economic activities, constructed artificial islands, and failed to prevent their fishing fleets from operating unlawfully. All these actions violated the Philippine sovereign rights under UNTLOS to the prejudice of the fisherfolk and artisanal fishers of an archipelagic state whose coastal communities and people rely on the seas for their livelihoods. The tribunal further ruled that there had been severe harm to coral reefs through island building and harvesting of endangered species, and that such activities violated obligations under Articles 192 and 194 of UNCLOS to protect and preserve the marine environment. All these impact on marine biodiversity and consequently on coastal communities and their peoples. Moreover, the tribunal observed the building and militarizing of artificial islands during the arbitration process, aggravating and extending the dispute contrary to the obligation not to endanger the proceedings or escalate tensions. In this effort to settle a dispute through peaceful means consistent with the Charter and UNCLOS, there was a refusal to participate. And now there's a claim that the tribunal acted ultra virus. However, the tribunal ruled that it had jurisdiction, because the dispute concerned the interpretation and application of unclaws, not issues of sovereignty over land territory, nor of maritime delimitation. The award is final and legally binding on both the Philippines and China. The award was an affirmation of the UNCLOS dispute resolution mechanisms. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it. And at the same time, we welcome the support of countries for the award. We urge China to respect and implement the July 12, 2016 Orbital Award. This would be consistent with the Charter, the UNCLOS, and international law. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thanks, Madam Chair. My delegation is obliged to take the floor to exercise its right of reply in response to the fictitious and frivolous statement made by the Indian delegate. These are the glabasions in which India has always excelled. The hollow claims of being the world's largest democracy cannot hide India's subversive activities against its neighbors, unprecedented state terrorism against the oppressed people of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Continued marginalization of ethnic minorities at home or its global assassination campaigns against the foreign citizens. India has always used the bogey of terrorism to advance its territorial ambitions and hegemonic designs in South Asia. After Pahilkam attack in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India indulged in a blame game sans any investigation or aorta of evidence. Without the twinge of shame, And touch of remorse, India had the audacity to commit act of naked and unprovoked aggression against Pakistan, thereby imperiling regional peace and stability. This was a predatory aggression which merited a response and responded Pakistan did effectively and swiftly. Instead of reveling in its fanciful hegemonic designs, India would do well to fulfill the solemn pledges it made to the people of Kashmir and fulfill its international and legal obligations. India may pursue a path of dialogue and diplomacy, not one of brinkmanship or belligerence, which could drag our region to the brink of precipice. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you so much, Madam Chair, for giving me the floor. I feel compelled to uh exercise a right uh to reply, of course, uh rejecting the unfounded statement of the Israeli regime delegation. I see uh so many new faces in the sixth committee this year and I'm sure that many of uh these uh new colleagues do not understand what the Israeli regime means when they say rule of law or the charter or human dignity or human rights. And uh maybe I could translate that in words for my new colleagues. I'm I'm sure that everyone knows this, but let's be clear. When they say rule of law, they mean rule of terror. Right now, two years they have been killing children, women, men, elderly people, pregnant women in Gaza and elsewhere. And they're they're speaking rule of law. They allow themselves uh it's really dark ir irony, they allow themselves to take the floor and preach about international law or the rule of law. Or when they say human dignity, what they actually mean is targeting innocent people, starved people in Palestine while they're awaiting humanitarian assistance, targeting them, these people who have already been starved in the hands of the Israeli regime. Or when they say human rights, it means genocide, which we see. I mean, this meeting clearly showed that an overwhelming number of member states of the United Nations, they do believe that indeed there is an ongoing genocide. This is without any doubt, and any any country. Who is aiding and abetting the Israeli regime in committing genocide is internationally responsible, whether through transfer of arms or political or diplomatic support, they are also uh complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Or when they say freedom of expression, they mean targeting, deliberately targeting the Iranian live broadcast TV in broad daylight before the eyes of the entire world. To just silence the truth, silence the voice of journalists. And I'm sure that everyone knows the details of uh the aggression of the Israeli regime against my country. Yet again, I think we're all accustomed to the uh impolite affront the delegation of the Israeli regime directs against the whole membership here, calling the statements delivered by many delegations, including large groups, colloquial or distorted. This is not a new thing. This is their practice. Try to whitewash the crimes of their genocidal regime. I myself remember their delegation called the International Court of Justice in the General Assembly. They called the International Court of Justice a circus. Now we all know that the Israeli regime is pressing the ICC, obstructing justice, or through cyber attacks and different means. When they call the UNRWA, which is a UN United Nations agency with privileges and immunities under Article 105 of the Charter, they call this a terrorist organization. Or they call the Secretary General of the United Nations persona non grata. This is this is the behavior of this regime with having blood on the hands of underhands, bloods of children on their hands, and now we're speaking of the rule of law. And there was a Hypocritical statement by the delegation of the Israeli regime saying that they are not fighting against Iranians. What what they have been doing in 12 war that they waged against my country, an occupying regime against a founding responsible member states, which is the Islamic Republic of Iran, a sovereign state, was actually against our people. So how could this be justified when these children have been killed in the hands in the hands of the brutal Israeli regime? These are Iranian children. The youngest child being killed is Ryan Gasemian. Look at this picture. And she was, and he was only a two-month-old baby. Or Kian, the lone savor survivor of the Gasemyan family, stands as a living testament to their tragic loss. And you could find all these documents and evidence of the violations and aggression of the Israeli regime in a document that we submit before the Security Council contained in document S 2025 S 477. I can I can go along with many lit list uh pictures and evidences of the brutality of the Israeli regime. And we know that it is not only against Iranians, it is against Lebanese, it is against Qataris, it's against Syrians, it is actually against humanity. What they're doing is without doubt a genocide. Everyone who wants to whitewash this ongoing genocide in Gaza being done by the Israeli regime is complicit indeed in this heinous crime. I thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving me the floor. I am taking the floor to exercise our right of reply to the statement made by the Israeli delegate, where he claimed that Israel respects international law and that it's not committing genocides. And besides the international consensus among international organizations, genocide scholars, Holocaust scholars, Yuan reports that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. We can further delve into how Israel respected the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide? And how has it respected the ICJ provisional orders that are ordered precisely to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people? Instead of preventing the commission of acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention as requested by the ICJ, Israel has intensified their commission. Instead of preventing and punishing public incitement to genocide as ordered by the ICJ, its officials are doubling down on their incitement. Instead of taking immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services as ordered by the ICJ, they deny any such assistance altogether, using starvation as a method of war, leading to a first famine declared in our region. Instead of immediately halting its military offensive and any other action in Rafah, as ordered by the ICJ, it has unleashed its ankling and destruction machine against all of the Gaza Strip. And instead of opening the Rafah crossing, as ordered by the ICJ, it has closed it off completely. And instead of ensuring the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any Commission of Inquiry, fact finding mission, or other investigative body mandated by the UN to investigate, as ordered by the ICJ, it continues to deny entry to any such missions and systematically murders the journalist exposing its crimes. And instead of taking all the necessary and effective measures to ensure without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, as ordered by the ICJ. It kills and maims UN staff and humanitarians and has passed legislation to destroy UNURWA's ability to provide life saving assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and to fulfill its General Assembly mandate. Israel has not only ignored But utterly violated every single part of the ICJ's binding orders, making sure that what was qu what was qualified by the court as a real and imminent risk has become an undeniable reality, that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, in violation of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Provisional Orders of the ICJ. But if Israel's violations of the ICJ provisional orders are not enough for the Israeli delegate to confirm that it's committing a genocide, We can go over a few of the genocidal statements made by the Israeli officials. I have a list of over 600 pages of genocidal statements made by Israeli officials. agradezco Starting with, sorry, starting with, we are being quotes, we are being blessed with the opportunity, thank God, of seeing the expansion of the borders of the land of Israel on all fronts. We are being blessed with the opportunity to blot out the seed of Amalek, a process which is intensifying. The Minister of National Security. The same minister, we concure, we cleanse, and stay. On the way, we annihilate everything that still remains. The IDF leaves nothing standing. We are breaking Gaza apart, leaving it a pile of rubble, a total unprecedented destruction. A commander in the Israeli army said We concure, we cleanse and stay. On the way we annihilate everything that still remains. Minister of National Security declared we are disambling Gaza and leaving it as piles of rubble with total destruction, which has no precedent globally. And the world is not stopping us. There are pressures, there are those who attack us, they are trying to make us stop, they are not succeeding. Because no, you know why they aren't succeeding? Because we are navigating the campaign responsibly and wisely. And that's how we will continue to do it. Another minister said we will make Gaza uninhabitable until the population leaves, and we will do the same in the West Bank. Another minister said, all Gaza will be Jewish. The government is pushing for Gaza being wiped out. Thank God we are wiping out this evil. Another minister said, you can besiege them. Whoever doesn't evacuate, don't let them. No water, no electricity. Let them die of hunger or surrender. This is what we want, and you are capable of doing it. These are some of the statements made by the Israeli officials. Is Israeli delegate here calling these genocidal statements also a propaganda? Thank you. muchas gracias a la delegación
Thank you, Chair. And in response to Philippines' uh intervention just now, we would like to uh say a few uh more words. Uh how to uh actually we are uh shocked by uh her remarks. Um I think it's very clear that the Philippines has illegally occupied s uh at least uh eight uh islands and reefs in the South China Sea. And China is a big country, but we have never uh bullied our neighbor uh neighbor countries. Uh And uh i if the territory are our own, we won't lose one inch. If the territory are not our own, uh we will uh not claim any inch. And that's our foreign policy. And uh it is the Philippines who have uh um let their uh obsolete military vessel uh sit on the second automatic shore for more than twenty years and we didn't take any uh Concrete action to uh to move this uh this vessel. So who is uh bullying who? I think the international community is very clear on this. As to the South China Sea arbitration, first uh regarding the uh jurisdiction, as Philippine uh representative just decided, uh the arbitration is not about uh uh uh not about uh a matter boundary. But uh she also mentions the EEZ and other uh maritime zones. So her own remarks are contradictory. If the case is not about milit uh maritime boundary, then uh it will have nothing to do with the EEZ of the Philippines. So the the marit the it loses lose uh lose sound.
Verbatim from the transcript. A reply is identified from its own words, the Chair's grant, or its place in the right-of-reply sequence; delegations and addressees follow the transcript's attribution.