President Macron, participating in the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, recalled the global enthusiasm seen at the recent Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. But he regretted that despite such huge celebrations, the Olympic agreement was considered “a dead letter”.
“Every day, humanity seems to become more fragile,” he said, criticizing the international community for failing to unite and find common solutions.
President Macron said that to restore the underlying words of strength and hope, he called for the restoration of trust between countries. He called for serious efforts to ensure the protection of common people. “This (goal) should always be a guiding light.”
“We should not let this idea enter our minds for a moment,” he said, adding that “the suffering of some people should be given more attention than others, whether it’s Ukraine, Gaza or Sudan.” “We need to give equal attention to those who are suffering.”
The French president lamented that the current wars have called into question the ability of the international community to implement the UN Charter.
He said that Russia is waging a war to seize Ukrainian territory in defiance of the most basic principles of international law.
A ceasefire is urgently needed
Referring to the Middle East, President Macron acknowledged that Israel has a legitimate right to defend its people and prevent Hamas from attacking again. But the war in Gaza “has gone too far (and) a large number of innocent people have been killed.”
He insisted that a ceasefire be implemented as soon as possible, the hostages be released and humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza on a large scale.
President Macron has said the international community must show political will to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, including a two-state solution, but the immediate risk is that war will spread across the Middle East.
“We call on Israel to stop attacking Lebanon and Hezbollah to stop firing missiles at Israel… There cannot and should not be a war in Lebanon,” he said.
The French president spoke about expanding the structure of the Security Council. According to him, Germany, Japan, India and Brazil should get permanent member status. Also, Africa should also have the right to send two countries from here.
However, he cautioned that these reforms alone are not enough to restore the Security Council’s effectiveness. They called for reforming the working methods of the Security Council, limiting its veto power in cases of mass crimes, and focusing more on effective decisions to maintain peace.