By Alison Depsky | The Argentina Independent | August 6, 2013
President Fernández speaking before the UN Security Council
(photo:Presidencia/Télam/e)
While leading the session of the UN Security Council earlier today, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner made a call to “revise the functions of UN organisms, in particular the Security Council.”
The president took a stance against the right to veto of the permanent member states, while reiterating the need to negotiate with the United Kingdom over the Malvinas.
President Fernández is currently head of the council for the month of August.
In her discussion about the UN itself, she emphasised that the organisation, which was created after the cold war, now needed to adapt to “a new world with a new reality.” Fernández argued that the United States, France, UK, Russia, and China should not necessarily continue to have the right to veto just because they have had it up until now. “The old methods are not going to give solutions [today],“ she said.
“Peace and security are not military concepts. Many believe that peace is only gained through weapons, but I believe that there are multiple examples that show that what really constructs societies are values and ideals.”
Fernández also claimed that, since the UN now reaches its decisions by consensus “there is no need to exercise a veto.” Her request was made in the context of a call to “strengthen” cooperation between regional organisations such as the CELAC, the African Union and the League of Arab States to the United Nations.
Regarding the Falklands/Malvinas the president said her government’s stance is not based on a whim. “We simply want the United Nations resolution to be enforced and for our two countries to sit down and discuss this.”
“One can have different opinions about something that has not been resolved by the UN, but a problem arises when the assembly is not looking at differing views,” she argued.
Fernández added that the Malvinas are “only an example”, and affirmed that she did not wish to introduce further controversy to this debate. “These are ideas, I’m not so arrogant as to say they are the absolute truth,” she said.
President Fernández also met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday to discuss the Falklands/Malvinas issue and the recent global espionage scandal.
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