Russia, China Lead Effort for ‘Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations’

March 12 , 2021 (EIRNS)—The UN Permanent Missions of Russia and China have been joined by 15 others in sending a letter to their other UN colleagues to inform them of their decision to establish a “Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations.”

They write that the Group

“will strive to preserve, promote, and defend the prevalence and validity of the UN Charter ... while providing a platform for, among others, promoting the prevalence of legality over force and for both discussing and coordinating possible joint initiatives for fostering the respect to the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, as well as to the values of dialogue, tolerance and solidarity.”

The letter calls on other countries to join: “We will be highly honored to count on your esteemed country amongst the founding members and therefore extend your honorable government a kind invitation to consider joining the ‘Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations.’ ”

The main objectives of the group would be to defend multilateralism against “unprecedented attack,” in the context of violations of international law, such as “the imposition of unilateral coercive measures or the withdrawal from landmark agreements and multilateral institutions.”

Also signing the letter of invitation are the Permanent Missions of Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Nicaragua, Palestine, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, and Venezuela.