DPRK: Statement During the General Assembly Veto Initiative Debate

Thank you, Mr. President,

We commend the President of the General Assembly for initiating this historic debate in line with Resolution 76/262.

We also commend all the delegations that have taken, and will take the podium. The cause of international peace and security belongs to every nation.

None of us are safe from the scourge of war, particularly if it is a conflict that risks the use of weapons of mass destruction.

On the 26th of May, the Security Council recorded negative votes by permanent members on a resolution regarding missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The launches violated previous Security Council resolutions.

Kenya, as an elected member, voted for the adoption of the resolution on the DPRK.

We did so due to our understanding that the brazen breaching of binding resolutions fatally undermines the effective multilateralism the world so desperately needs.

The negative votes meant that the Council failed to send a clear message that the missile launches are unacceptable.

In the vacuum caused by the Council's paralysis, the situation is leading to a dangerous arms race. And left to fester, an accident caused by tense military forces, can lead to a catastrophic war in the Korean Peninsula.

Mr President,

This past weekend, the DPRK launched eight (8) more missiles using ballistic technology.

The lack of diplomatic negotiations to resolve outstanding disagreements only increases the tensions and invites disaster.

The Security Council should not remain immobilised when the risks to the world are so clear and present.

The conflict in Ukraine, and its impact on all our economies, is evidence enough that the fates of all 193 members of this assembly are deeply connected.

It added to the effects of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, driving many millions into even deeper poverty. Everything must be done to prevent a war breaking out in the Korean Peninsula.

Added to the multiple crises we are dealing with, it would push the world into a major economic depression. And that would lead to wide-scale suffering and death, particularly in developing countries.

Mr President,

The General Assembly does not have the powers under the UN Charter to compel states to act. For that reason, there are reasonable voices that question the utility of our debate today.

We, however, believe that the moral force of humanity's aversion to war, or the threat of it, is the fundamental underpinning of an effective multilateralism.

It is our right and obligation to give voice to that human yearning.

We therefore call on the Security Council to act on its responsibilities and obligations to protect our common peace.

Should there be further missile launches, or other actions that breach nuclear non-proliferation, the Council should take strong action.

If it does not do so, global opinion, shaped in no small part by a General Assembly determined to make its voice heard, will add impetus to the appetite for fundamental reform.

For now Mr President, we are glad to note that this debate furthers Africa's Ezulwini Consensus, which seeks to 'improve on the balance of competence…between the General Assembly and the Security Council'.

We believe that negative votes by permanent members of the Security Council, followed by 76/262 debates, will increase the urgency delegations show in seeking Security Council reform.

I conclude by urging the parties in the Korean Peninsula to take all necessary measures to settle the unfolding situation by peaceful means.

I thank you