15 countries take turns chairing the UN Security Council. Every month the baton is passed to the next country and now it has been Russia’s turn. That this is happening at the same time as Russia is waging war against Ukraine shows the political crisis that has hit the UN, says Engelbrekt.
– That a country that sits on the Security Council permanently and has the right to veto disregards the principles of sovereignty and the integrity of states is of course very serious. There is perhaps no more serious example than this historically. It expresses a lack of respect for how the UN works, says Kjell Engelbrekt.
“Will not be able to do much”
According to Engelbrekt, Russia’s chairmanship is primarily a symbol of the fact that the UN is paralyzed – the scope for doing anything is limited.
– In concrete terms, you can’t do much even though you are chairman. You cannot block questions from being raised. You cannot completely shut down discussions, and you are expected to maintain a good tone in the negotiations. The work will work much like before, he says.
Among other things, Russia plans to use the time to hold two debates on “effective multilateralism in the Middle East” and an information meeting on “the risks of violating arms export rules”.
“Does not affect the war”
The UN has so far not had a particularly strong role in relation to Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to Engelbrekt, the war would be influenced by the Russian presidency.
– There are other things that matter, such as the approach of the major powers and the EU and NATO. And above all the military force relations between Russia and Ukraine. They will not be influenced by the presidency, he says.
Hear Kjell Engelbrekt, professor of political science, talk about the Russian presidency in the video above.
