His passionate speech was an indictment of the U.N. system itself.'
It was a challenge to world diplomats sitting in the historic chamber in New York, where any action to condemn Russia's invasion has been blocked by Russia's veto power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
But it was also a serious indictment of the United Nations system itself, which was built in the ashes of World War II to ensure international peace and security.
UN aid agencies are on the ground to provide aid, its human rights chief monitoring reported war crimes, including new, shocking images of civilians killed in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, and nearly three-quarters of its Members have joined in condemning the Russian invasion.
But none of this stopped Russian leader Vladimir Putin's brutal campaign to topple the Ukrainian government and subjugate the country,
"Where is the security that the Security Council must guarantee?" Zelensky asked. "It is clear that the world's premier institution ... simply cannot function effectively."
Top UN officials attended the session on Tuesday, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who lamented how the war is now exacerbating food and fuel crises and throwing more people into hunger around the world. threatening.
"For all these reasons, it is more urgent day after day to silence the guns. ... The war in Ukraine must stop - now," he told the chamber.
But weeks of condemnation have fallen on deaf ears in Moscow by Guterres and other UN diplomats, who continue to use their prominent perch in the Security Council to spread propaganda about the war and accuse Ukraine of provocations, lies and fakes. keeps. On Tuesday, its envoy Vasily Nebenzya repeatedly spoke out to say that the atrocities committed by eyewitnesses and journalists in Buka had been "staged".
According to some critics, the failure to reprimand Nebenzya for her almost daily false claims is another way the U.N. Its credibility has been affected during the crisis.
In his remarks, Zelensky himself stated that the United Nations could be "simply closed" if it did not act to punish Russia for its invasion of its country - "if you do nothing but negotiate". can."
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield gradually emphasized that in an interview after the session, telling BBC Zelensky "not quite right."
Thomas- Greenfield said.
But Zelensky clarified that this is not enough for Ukraine.
He demanded that "the Russian army and those who ordered them be brought to justice immediately" - urged "absolute truth and complete accountability". As he details the gruesome atrocities in Buka—and elsewhere—he said the worse still remains to be discovered in the cities occupied by Russian forces.
But he also called for a wholesale reform of the United Nations system – saying that the international body had not lived up to the goals set out in its founding in San Francisco after World War II, and that those goals could not be achieved without reforms. Is. He called for reforms at a global conference, including expelling Russia from the Security Council or ending the veto power.
"The veto is not a right to die," he said. "No more exceptions or privileges."
No attempt is being made to remove Russia from the Security Council or the General Assembly, the main house of the United Nations – where all 193 countries have votes but whose resolutions are not binding. Removal from the United Nations requires a recommendation from the Security Council itself – where Russia exercises that veto power – and then a vote by the General Assembly.
That veto power - shared with the four other permanent members China, the US, the United Kingdom and France - has left the Security Council powerless to pass a resolution condemning the Kremlin invasion.
Either way, Putin cares little for paper condemnations like UN resolutions. The night he started his war and bombs began to drop across Ukraine, UN diplomats meeting late at night in New York to discuss the threat of war at the same time, his words sounded more hollow.
Instead of completely expelling Russia, the U.S. To suspend Russia from Human Rights Council, U.S. Ukraine is pushing with its allies and partners. The body's 47 members are elected from among United Nations member states for three-year terms, but a country may be suspended by a two-thirds majority in the United Nations General Assembly.
"Our votes can make a real difference. Russia's participation in the UN Human Rights Council hurts the Council's credibility, it undermines the entire United Nations, and it is absolutely wrong. Let us come together to do what is right." And right by the Ukrainian people," Thomas-Greenfield told his fellow diplomats in the chamber.
US officials have said they believe they have the necessary votes - with 141 and 140 votes, respectively, pointing to two previous resolutions passed by the General Assembly to condemn Russia's invasion. Thomas-Greenfield said voting could take place on Thursday.
While only one other country has faced that kind of condemnation – Libya in 2011 after Muammar Gaddafi's forces opened fire on demonstrators – Russia has already rejected the efforts, with the Nebenzyas vowing that the Kremlin's campaign Nothing will stop him.
“We need to cut out the deadly Nazi tumor that is eating Ukraine and over time will start consuming Russia, and we will achieve that goal, I hope sooner rather than later, because there are no other consequences. is," he said.