International law
Rule of law, ICJ and ICC at UNGA 81
Raised by 185 of 223 speakers. Read verbatim UN transcript quotes and select a time to hear the speech.
Speeches that raised rule of law, icj and icc
Libya · Day 2Mohamed Younis MenfiThis transformation is reshaping the meaning of security, the nature of alliances, and the capacity of the international order to uphold the foundations and principles upon which and for which it was established.
At the heart of these transformations lies a question that transcends the borders of states and continents.
How can we build an international order in which the rule of law is an equal right, not a privilege of the most powerful?
9passages
Poland · Day 2Karol NawrockiFrom the very beginning of the UN's existence, we have been faced with a question about the foundations of the international order that we are shaping within our organization.
Despite many achievements, we must not forget that at the very root of its creation, lies a fundamental flaw, an original flaw, that continues to undermine the system's credibility to this day.
The UN was established in response to the greatest tragedy in human history, World War II, but it was not founded on a simple and fundamental principle that every wrongdoing must be met with accountability and sometimes with just punishment.
9passages
Cyprus · Day 2Nikos ChristodoulidesInternational law, the UN Charter, respect for sovereign and territorial integrity, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for human rights, the quality of states, all these are not principles of the past.
They are principles that transcend time, the essential ingredient for the present and for the future.
The challenge before us is therefore clear.
5passages
Serbia · Day 2Aleksandar VučićThe space for independent decision-making is narrowing, while pressure on states to choose sides is steadily increasing.
At the same time, disagreements among the most powerful actors are increasingly paralyzing the very institutions that should be protecting all countries equally.
The traditional system of international justice is seriously undermined whenever interests prevail over law and the same rules do not apply to everyone.
5passages
Slovakia · Day 2Peter PellegriniThat is why a world ruled mainly by power, rather than by rules, would be dangerous for everyone.
For smaller countries such as Slovakia, this is especially clear.
But no country, large or small, is truly safe in a world where international law is ignored and institutions are weakened.
4passages
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) · Day 2Delcy Eloína Rodríguez GómezI know Venezuela intimately.
I thank God for the opportunity he has provided me with to experience institutional forums which exist within various sectors of public life.
I know where the doors are, doors that must open to usher in a wholesale transformation of Venezuela.
4passages
Syrian Arab Republic · Day 2Ahmad Al-SharaaWe launched the initiative Syria without refugee camps, to end this era.
We have reconstructed universities and schools to maintain educational services to all Syrian citizens.
And we have consolidated our values.
3passages
Latvia · Day 2Edgars RinkēvičsBorders changed by force, territory sized by force, children taken by force, Ukrainian civilians targeted by Russia, schools, hospitals, homes, markets, energy infrastructure.
Russia's attacks reach far beyond the battlefield.
They are directed against the people of Ukraine and their foundations of daily lives.
3passages
Timor-Leste · Day 2José Ramos-HortaAnd worse, we witness diplomatic acrobatics to brush off the bombing of a school or a hospital, saying that it does not really violate international law because the terrorists, quote unquote, may be hiding in the basement of the building.
I'm worried.
Worried that we have started treating a catastrophe as something we can simply coexist with.
3passages
Panama · Day 2José Raúl Mulino QuinteroI'm convinced that the United Nations has immense potential in a world with so much volatility and such strong asymmetries.
But it needs to take up again its leadership in order to engage in preventive actions and corrective actions.
I am a person who believes in and defends multilateralism.
3passages
Honduras · Day 2Nasry Juan Asfura ZablahMoreover, it administers its natural resources in accordance with its Constitution.
The law applies to each and every individual in all four corners of the country because without legal security and certainty and without respect for private property, there can be no peace, development, employment, or investment.
The right to development is something that it is the duty of the country's government to ensure for the millions of Honduran people.
3passages
Montenegro · Day 2Jakov MilatovićAnd my generation has a responsibility to help complete that chapter.
These responsibilities are not important because of the titles they carry.
They're important because of what they allow us to contribute to reconciliation, connectivity, democratic resilience, and the European future of our region.
3passages
Uzbekistan · Day 2Saida MirziyoyevaFor us, the international law is not an instrument that changes based on the interests.
It's a common rule for all countries.
There cannot be universal justice without universal law.
3passages
Iran (Islamic Republic of) · Day 2Masoud PezeshkianWe are the ones who cause instability.
Those who are committing terrorism and committing crimes, are they the protectors of peace and stability?
None of the international laws have been adhered to by them.
2passages
Paraguay · Day 2Santiago Peña PalaciosThe United Nations remains indispensable.
It is the only system that enables all the countries of the world to coexist, but it must become more effective at preventing conflict, protecting people, and ensuring respect for the rules that states themselves have agreed upon.
Our commitment to peace is summed up in the words of a distinguished Paraguayan, Manuel Gondra.
2passages
Czechia · Day 2Petr PavelRules have value only if they bind everyone, especially those powerful enough to break them.
When rules are cast aside, raw power fills the vacuum.
A world dominated by great power competition is a volatile world, less able to address the most pressing challenges of our time.
2passages
Argentina · Day 2Javier Gerardo MileiFor us, the Malvinas are a national cause.
I repeat, the Malvinas for us are a national cause.
They are also a test of the gulf that can exist between the words of international institutions and the reality upon which they purport to act.
2passages
Estonia · Day 2Alar KarisOver the past year in particular, it has become increasingly clear that the multilateral world order, with the United Nations and the Charter in its core, is at a profound turning point.
Present disregard for international law and the principles of the Charter reinforced by the sense of impunity, too often dominates over adherence to the rule of law and cooperation between countries for a better future.
Mutual dependence has come to be treated as a critical vulnerability.
2passages
Ecuador · Day 2Daniel Roy-Gilchrist Noboa AzinWhen it controls territories and infiltrates institutions, replaces legitimate authority, erodes the rule of law and destabilises entire societies, and when that happens in several countries at the same time, it is no longer just a domestic issue; it becomes a threat to international peace and security.
I want to say this very clearly: we are not Calling for other actors to act instead of states, we're...
And we need the charter and international law to remain our common language.
2passages
Kenya · Day 2William Samoei RutoWe are We are frequently the subject of its decisions, permanently discussed, yet permanently excluded.
The problem is not that the world lacks law.
It is that confidence in its consistent application is weakening.
2passages
Eswatini · Day 2King Mswati IIIHowever, we are concerned by the continued incidence of unconstitutional changes of government, which run counter to the values and principles enshrined in the charters of the United Nations the African Union, and the regional economic blocs.
Respect for constitutional order and the rule of law is fundamental to stability.
We urge the international community to speak with one voice against its erosion.
2passages
Spain · Day 2Pedro Sánchez Pérez-CastejónAnd I don't need to point them out.
We all know who they are and what their modus operandi is.
They start by questioning the rules, then they break them.
2passages
Andorra · Day 2Xavier Espot ZamoraWhen international commitments are relativized, when the Charter of the UN ceases to serve as the shared framework guiding the actions of states, when international humanitarian law is violated with a frequency that risks normalizing horror, what is weakened is not only peace itself, but also confidence in the international order and in all the organizations that represent and promote it.
From this assembly, Andorra wishes to reiterate a conviction it has upheld for more than three decades.
For small states, multilateralism is not a strategic option, but a guarantee that all countries, regardless of their size, can make their voices heard on an equal legal footing.
2passages
Romania · Day 2Nicuşor-Daniel DanUnderpin under national law, human rights, The rule of law and democratic governance are the principles that helped transform my country.
Romania's evolution over the past 37 years proves the crucial importance of upholding these principles.
Millions of Romanians known from their personal experience the difference between a communist system that oppressed them and stifled their initiative and freedom of choice and a democracy that rewards work, innovation, and personal responsibility.
1passages
Palau · Day 2Surangel Whippsthan isolation and uphold respect, restraint, and international law.
The Pacific is our home, not a theater for geopolitical competition.
It must remain an ocean of peace where nations meet in cooperation, international law is respected, and the security of the Pacific peoples is never compromised.
1passages
Botswana · Day 2Duma Gideon BokoBotswana comes to this podium with a power and weight of genuine conviction.
When Botswana gained independence in 1966, we carried a founding belief that our security and prosperity would come from disciplined integration into a community of nations governed by rules that all had agreed to honour.
We honoured our treaty obligations and opened our economy in accordance with the norms of this organization.
1passages
Bulgaria · Day 2Iliana IotovaBulgaria urges political commitment and compliance with Resolution 77/104 of the UN General Assembly adopted on December 7, 2022, on the protection of the environment during armed conflict.
For Bulgaria, investment in education, science and culture means an investment in the long-term viability of our societies.
Not only do they protect knowledge and identity, they also allow people to adapt and to create.
1passages
Central African Republic · Day 2Faustin Archange TouaderaHowever far they may be from the front line, no state is safe from the repercussions of these conflicts.
At the same time, divisions within the Security Council, the body charged with protecting international peace and security, are paralyzing action where it is the most urgently needed.
International law is supposed to protect the weak from the ambitions of the powerful, yet it is increasingly being dismissed as optional.
1passages
Ethiopia · Day 2Taye Atske-Selassie AmdeThe progress we have achieved so far on various facets of development reflects this firm and strong resolve.
We recently held a democratic election that laid a strong foundation for a free, fair, and transparent political dispensation.
Equally, in our relentless pursuit of building national consensus, the National Dialogue Commission has convened the first historical summit where citizens from every corner of the country and from all walks of life deliberate on critical issues of national importance.
1passages
Mozambique · Day 2Daniel Francisco ChapoAnd it's precisely in this contest that the theme of this session takes an important significance.
Restoring trust requires consistency between the principle we proclaim as leaders and the decisions we make.
It requires the fair application of international law, and concrete results that translate into improvement in the lives of the people in the whole world.
1passages
Rwanda · Day 2Justin NsengiyumvaIt now operates alongside Burundian troops and DLC-sponsored militias and mercenaries, in violation of the 1989 UN Convention and the 1977 OAU Convention against Mercenaries.
And this did not happen overnight.
The roots of the conflict in Eastern DRC are political, and they lie in long-standing grievances, exclusion, and failures of governance.
1passages
Democratic Republic of the Congo · Day 2Judith Suminwa TulukaThat is why our ambition for the United Nations is inseparable from what we hold dear for our own country.
We want a transformation that inspires confidence and trust because it keeps its promises and trust that makes transformation possible in the long term.
At a time when humanity hesitates between fragmentation and cooperation, it is up to us to make this ambition our collective responsibility.
1passages
Italy · Day 2Antonio TajaniWe must never grow accustomed to war, because first we'll become accustomed to the words, then to images, and finally to the victims.
When war becomes something we grow accustomed to, peace itself risks becoming a mirage.
We will not give up.
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