Austria's UN Ambassador Questions Whether the System of Veto Powers Is Still Capable of Governing Relationships

PeopleDiplomats ♦ Published: March 1, 2022; 22:06 ♦ (Vindobona)

At an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly, Austrian Ambassador to the UN, Alexander Marschik, questioned whether the veto power provided to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council undermines its ability to uphold international law. Read more of what the ambassador said regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Austrian Ambassador to the UN Alexander Marschik: "...we should ask ourselves if the system of veto powers is still able to regulate our international relations." / Picture: © BMEIA Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äußeres / Georges Schneider / Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

During an emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Austrian Ambassador to the United Nations, Alexander Marschik, questioned the veto powers provided to the permanent members of the UN Security Council and urged his colleagues to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In his speech, Ambassador Marschik stated that the special session of the UNGA was both a good and bad thing.

The ambassador explained that the special session is bad for the obvious reason of the intensifying Russian invasion of Ukraine.…