Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter Condemns US Interference in Latin America

The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations denounced the current US military threat against Venezuela and US interventionism in Latin America.

It also presented to the UN member states a series of documents prepared by the delegations, including the draft political declaration for the group’s seventh ministerial meeting and a text condemning the US attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities.

During the group’s meeting on Friday, September 26, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil condemned the growing military threat posed by the US against Venezuela and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to diplomacy, multilateralism, and the strict observance of the UN Charter.

He highlighted that his country is facing an international offensive led by the US, aimed at seizing Venezuela’s natural resources and bringing about “regime change.” “An aggression against Venezuela is being prepared with ever greater force, intensity, and lies,” he warned, adding that an escalation against the country “would be a catastrophe for the entire region.”

He further stated that, despite the threats, the people and the government of Venezuela are prepared to resist and prevail. However, he stressed that Venezuela’s path is the path of peace: “We are supporters of peace and have proposed a path of dialog, a path of diplomacy, even with those who have systematically violated the United Nations Charter.”

He underscored that unilateral coercive measures and blockades constitute flagrant violations of international law, and called for preserving the UN as the ideal forum for resolving international disputes. “The United Nations Charter is the mechanism that we have, and we must support it firmly,” he emphasized.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez categorically condemned the US military deployment in the Caribbean, calling it “a direct threat to Venezuela” and an “open act of aggression.” He pointed out that the deployment constitutes a violation of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace (2014), the Treaty of Tlatelolco for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in the region (1967), and the United Nations Charter itself.

He emphasized that the world needs a new, inclusive, plural, and just international order that promotes peace, security, human dignity, and social justice, based on dialog, cooperation, and sovereign equality, with respect for the peoples’ right to freely choose their political systems. “Overcoming the [current] complex scenario requires defending the Charter of the United Nations. Together, we can do it,” he concluded.

Solidarity with Venezuela against the US military onslaught, solidarity with Cuba against of the US blockade, and solidarity with the Palestinian cause was a common thread in several other statements, including that by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who also urged for the end of unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela.

Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada underscored that humanity continues to face “structural inequalities, aggressions against the sovereignty of peoples, and unilateral practices contrary to the principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality, and non-interference.”

He emphasized that multilateralism is the only legitimate platform for combating inequality, preserving peace, and ensuring respectful coexistence among peoples. He strongly condemned unilateral coercive measures, calling them arbitrary and inhumane, and called for preserving Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace. He expressed Nicaragua’s solidarity with Venezuela against US aggression, accused the US and “Israel” of trying to destroy Palestine, and demanded that the international community take immediate action to guarantee Palestine a free and independent state.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister: US Military Deployment is Aggression, Not Dispute (+CELAC)

The deputy permanent representative of China to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, condemned US interference in Latin America and demanded that the West end its pressure mechanisms against all countries, acts of intimidation by hegemonic powers that erode the UN Charter and multilateralism.

He called upon the Group to promote the reform of global governance and support the initiative that China presented in that regard during the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin. He also called for the inclusion of more nations in the Group.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin noted that the UN faces challenges such as creating a multipolar world and achieving just representation in the governance of international affairs, such as representation by countries of the Global South.

He emphasized that the Group in Defense of the UN Charter is a bulwark of resistance against imperialist attacks on the peoples of the world, unilateral coercive measures, and the imposition of colonial practices, all of which jeopardize the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

He asserted that Western solutions will not bring peace to the Middle East. A full ceasefire and compliance with UN resolutions on Palestine are imperative. Similarly, he repudiated the US military threat and provocations against Venezuela, and conveyed Russia’s full solidarity to the Venezuelan people and government.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Rizhenkov condemned the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people and endorsed the creation of an independent Palestinian state. He asserted that the Palestinian cause is an essential prerequisite for peace in the Middle East.

Rizhenkov also demanded that Western powers put an end to the unilateral coercive measures imposed on various countries, calling them harmful to human rights.

A group of foreign ministers, including those of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, and Burundi, Édouard Bizimana, congratulated Venezuela on its leadership of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations and on expanding the group’s action in various multilateral forums.

(Telesur)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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