Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations

Last updated
Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations
FormationJuly 6, 2021;2 years ago (2021-07-06)
Headquarters335 E 46th St
New York, NY 10017
United States
Membership
See § Membership
Website gof-uncharter.org

The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations is a grouping at the United Nations, established in July 2021 in New York. The group was initially formed by 16 UN member states (Algeria, Angola (former member), Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia (former member), China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Nicaragua, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, and Venezuela) and one UN observer state (Palestine). Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe, and Mali have since joined the group, bringing its total membership to 18 states with Angola and Cambodia no longer being a member. Both Angola and Cambodia withdrew from the Group in April 2024. [1]

Contents

The main goal of the grouping is to issue a message in support of the United Nations' founding treaty, commonly referred to as the UN Charter, seeking to promote multilateralism and diplomacy over the use of force against perceived violations from other UN Member States. [2] [3] The grouping was initiated by Venezuela. [4]

History

The March 10, 2021 concept note said "the world is seeing a growing resort to unilateralism, marked by isolationist and arbitrary actions, including the imposition of unilateral coercive measures or the withdrawal from landmark agreements and multilateral institutions, as well as by attempts to undermine critical efforts to tackle common and global challenges." [5]

In September 2022, six additional countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Mali, Namibia, South Africa and Vietnam) participated as guests and/or observer(s) at the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends, held in New York City, on the margins of the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly. [6]

In December 2022, the group held its First Meeting of National Coordinators in Tehran, resulting in the publication of their fifth political declaration. [7]

The Group of Friends operates in New York, since its establishment in July 2021, and during first quarter of 2023 initiated its activities in Geneva. The Members of the Group of Friends have agreed to continue identifying other potential spaces for expanding the scope of action of the grouping, particularly to other cities that host United Nations Offices or other International Organizations.

Membership

The following countries are currently members of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, with a breakdown by continents as follows: 6 in Asia, 5 in Africa, 3 in North America, 2 in Europe, and 2 in South America. [8] [9]

  1. Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
  2. Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus
  3. Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg  Bolivia
  4. Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
  5. Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba
  6. Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
  7. Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea
  8. Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea
  9. Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
  10. Flag of Laos.svg  Laos
  11. Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
  12. Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua
  13. Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine
  14. Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
  15. Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  16. Flag of Syria.svg  Syria
  17. Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela
  18. Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe

Political positions

The group advocates for a multipolar system in international relations. It stands against the practice of unilateral interventionism, and "concepts or notions that have not been internationally-agreed upon, such as the 'responsibility to protect' or a so-called 'rules-based order'". [10] The group advocates for the lifting of sanctions and unilateral coercive measures against its members, such as Nicaragua, Iran, and Zimbabwe.

The group advocates for Palestine, endorsing its full membership of the UN and right to a capital in East Jerusalem. The group reaffirms their "firm commitment to the just cause of Palestine" and commits to "unwavering solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle to achieve their inalienable rights, freedom and justice." They seek to support efforts "aimed at ending the Israeli occupation, which constitutes an illegal colonial occupation and apartheid regime, and at achieving the independence of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital." [11]

Criticism

In response to the creation of the group, a senior European diplomat[ who? ] speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters declared that "These so-called friends are the ones who have done most to breach the charter. Maybe they should start by respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms in their own countries." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group of 77</span> Coalition of developing countries

The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization headquartered in Geneva, but it has since expanded to 134 member countries. Uganda holds its chairmanship for 2024, succeeding Cuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitary state</span> State governed as a single unit with a supreme central government

A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions. Such units exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Although political power may be delegated through devolution to regional or local governments by statute, the central government may override the decisions of devolved governments, curtail their powers, or expand their powers. The modern unitary state concept originated in France; in the aftermath of the Hundred Years' War, national feelings that emerged from the war unified France. The war accelerated the process of transforming France from a feudal monarchy to a unitary state. The French then later spread unitary states by conquests, throughout Europe during and after the Napoleonic Wars, and to the world through the vast French colonial empire.

This gallery of sovereign state flags shows the national or state flags of sovereign states that appear on the list of sovereign states. For flags of other entities, please see gallery of flags of dependent territories. Each flag is depicted as if the flagpole is positioned on the left of the flag, except for those of Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia which are depicted with the hoist to the right.

South Centre is an intergovernmental organisation of developing nations, established by an intergovernmental agreement (treaty), which came into force on 31 July 1995, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It functions as an independent policy think tank, whilst also holding observer status at the United Nations and other development agencies.

References

  1. Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations
  2. Dyson, Michael Eric; Azerrad, David (2021-03-12). "China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and more join forces "in defense" of U.N." Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  3. "Palestinians team up with China, Russia, North Korea to rail against unilateralism at UN". i24 News . March 12, 2021. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  4. "中国等多国举行"捍卫《联合国宪章》之友小组"首个部长级会议". finance.sina.com.cn. 23 September 2021. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  5. 1 2 Nichols, Michelle (2021-03-11). "China, Iran, North Korea seek support at U.N. to push back against unilateral force, sanctions". Reuters . Archived from the original on 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  6. "Official Twitter Account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Int Trade of Zimbabwe (September 2022)". Archived from the original on 2022-09-24. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  7. "Political Declaration #5 (Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations, November 2022)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  8. "Virtual Launch of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations". United Nations . July 6, 2021. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  9. "Mali has joined the group in March 2023". Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  10. "Joint Inputs for the Development of the 'New Agenda for Peace' (Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations, December 2022, paragraph 16)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  11. "Political Declaration #5 (Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations, November 2022, paragraph 20)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-11-03.