The UN’s continued failure to end systemic abuses by the United States is extremely dangerous.
Photo: REUTERS.
Washington is trying to create problems for UN delegations from countries that criticize US foreign policy. All reasonable deadlines for leveling the playing field have already passed. That is why Russia is insisting on arbitration in relation to the host country of the UN headquarters. But those who, it seems, should have been the first to bring the Americans to justice are preventing justice from being done.
The issue was raised point-blank by Russian representative Sergei Leonidchenko. At a meeting of the UN Committee on Relations with Host Countries, he said: visa problems faced by many states sending their delegations to work at various UN sites are not an accident, but a malicious intent.
A LOT OF OBSTACLES
– It is not just a question of open discrimination. The principles of the universality of the UN and the sovereign equality of States are under threat, said our diplomat. – It is deeply abnormal that some representative offices continue to function normally, while others have to overcome a host of obstacles and difficulties imposed on them every day.
The problem raised by Leonidchenko, of course, is not new. For a long time, Moscow tried to solve it “peacefully”. The Secretariat of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly promised to hold negotiations with Washington and to resolve existing organizational problems during “contacts”. But in the end, the abnormal simply became the new normal.
THERE ARE 15 DIPLOMATS ON THE WAITING LIST
The State Department continues to deny visas to Russian diplomats. And even if visas are issued, in many cases the waiting period is unreasonably prolonged. The Americans have also turned the extension of visas already granted for employees of the Russian permanent mission to the UN into a real quest with an unpredictable ending. This disrupts the normal staff rotation.
“Yes, the ‘waiting list’ has been reduced somewhat, but it still includes 15 employees of the Russian permanent mission and 28 members of their families,” Leonidchenko said.
Delegates travelling to UN events also face difficulties in obtaining visas. Sometimes, in “manual mode”, it is still possible to speed up the procedure. However, these efforts, the diplomat stressed, unfortunately cannot change the overall picture.
Hiding behind the wall of denial
Leonidchenko is convinced that the long-term inability of the UN to achieve an end to systemic violations by the United States is extremely dangerous: “The imitation of the negotiation process with the American authorities cannot last forever. Everyone understands perfectly well that negotiations do not work.” And the committee itself, our diplomat added, is gradually turning into a discussion club, where victims are occasionally allowed to vent their anger. At the same time, the United States “can comfortably hide behind a wall of denial.”
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL
This means we need to act differently. But how exactly? Especially when you consider that UN officials actually stood up to protect Washington’s interests.
“The Secretary-General must use the arbitration procedure… It is his legal obligation and not a matter of discretion,” the diplomat said of Moscow’s demands.
Will Guterres be able to go against Washington’s wishes? “We are counting on a tough and immediate response from the Secretary-General,” Leonidchenko said.
