Protecting civilians must be our ‘North Star’, says French President Macron

UN Photo/Loey Felipe

President Emmanuel Macron of France addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventy-ninth session.

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25 September 2024 UN Affairs

President Emmanuel Macron of France deplored on Wednesday what he saw as deepening divisions among the world’s nations, telling the General Assembly that effective multilateralism has never been more necessary to rebuild trust and tackle crises.

Recalling that global enthusiasm that had greeted the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mr. Macron regretted that, despite such jubilation, the Olympic Truce seemed “a dead letter”.

“Every day, humanity seems to fragment further,” he said, lamenting the international community’s failure to come together and find common solutions.

To restore the power and hope vested in the words ‘United Nations’, he called for the restoration of trust among nations, and a serious push to see civilian protection as an imperative norm. “It must remain a North Star.”  

“Let us not allow the idea to take hold for a single moment” that the suffering of some deserves more attention than the suffering of others, whether in Ukraine, Gaza or Sudan. “We need to show equal attention to all those suffering,” President Macron said.

Regrettably, current ongoing conflicts call into question the international community’s ability to enforce the UN Charter. “When I see some people wanting to propose peace by asking for capitulation, I am surprised that we can even support such an idea,” he said.

Mr. Macron said Russia was waging a war of territorial conquest in Ukraine in disregard of the most fundamental principles of international law. “[Russia] is guilty of serious breaches of law, ethics and honour,” he asserted.

The fate of Ukraine is tied to peace and security in Europe and in the world “because who could believe themselves protected from their strongest, most violent and most greedy neighbors if we let Russia prevail as if nothing had happened?”

Keen to help Ukraine build a just and lasting peace, he said that France will continue to provide it with essential equipment for its defense and will support its remarkable resistance.

Turning to the Middle East, he acknowledged that Israel had a legitimate right to protect its people and to deny Hamas the means to attack it again. But its war in Gaza “has gone on too long [and] too many innocent people have died.”

A ceasefire must therefore be declared as soon as possible, the hostages must be freed, and massive amounts of humanitarian aid must arrive in Gaza, he underscored.

While the international community must evince the political will to ensure a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the immediate risk is that of regional escalation, added Mr. Macron.  

“We urge Israel to cease escalation in Lebanon, and for Hezbollah to cease missile launches towards Israel. We urge all those who provide (Hezbollah) with the means to do so to stop,” he said.

“There must not, there cannot be a war in Lebanon,” he underscored.

Finally, Mr. Macron said he favoured expanding the composition of the Security Council. As he saw it, Germany, Japan, India and Brazil should be permanent members, as well as two countries that Africa would designate to represent it. New elected members should also be admitted.

But this reform alone would not be enough to restore the Council’s effectiveness, he warned, calling for a change in the body’s working methods, a limitation of the right of veto in cases of mass crimes, and more attention to operational decisions required for maintaining peace. 

“The time has come to regain efficiency in order to act better on the ground,” he concluded.