APPEAL TO WORLD LEADERS AND THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL

ON THE OCCASION OF THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 77TH SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

by the former UN system staff members signing below

In a couple of weeks the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly will be opening, with world leaders flocking to New York for the “General Debate” high-level segment. With the mili­tary confron­ta­tion in Ukraine now in its seventh month with no end to the destruc­tion, killing and suffe­ring in sight, the expec­ta­tion is that world leaders will refer to it in their spee­ches.

We appeal that this occa­sion be used produc­tively, in addi­tion to reas­ser­ting the values of the UN Charter, the prin­ciples of non-aggres­sion and of the peaceful reso­lu­tion of disputes, to actually advance efforts to end the fighting and set in motion a nego­tia­tion process. Such a process could gradu­ally allow for the peaceful reso­lu­tion of the conflict in the broader context of regional and global peace and secu­rity.

The authors of this appeal, former UN civil servants from many corners of the globe, constantly inspired by the UN Charter and its vision of a peaceful, prospe­rous and just world, expect the UN to do more to assist the parties in ending the war and finding a peaceful, just and lasting solu­tion to their diffe­rences. We are encou­raged by the success of UN-led nego­tia­tions that have enabled the resump­tion of exports of Ukrai­nian grains and faci­li­tate the export of Russian grains and ferti­li­zers, so that a major famine can be averted, espe­ci­ally in the poorest count­ries. We are also encou­raged by the invol­vement of the UN and the Inter­na­tional Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in avoi­ding a cata­strophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The UN and its Secre­tary-General need to capi­ta­lize on these func­tional arran­ge­ments and pursue poli­tical chan­nels of commu­ni­ca­tion in parallel, so as to secure a ceas­e­fire and get a nego­tia­tion process started the soonest possible.

As the inte­rests of Russia, as well as those of Ukraine’s main supporters, namely the US and the EU, extend way beyond this conflict and have geopo­li­tical dimen­sions, we urge that a nego­tia­ting mecha­nism be created to address related concerns from all sides. We ther­e­fore urge UN Secre­tary-General Guterres, with the support of world leaders, to convene an inter­na­tional contact group of key count­ries and to appoint a special envoy, thus faci­li­ta­ting the discus­sion of these diver­gent inte­rests and making it possible for them to be over­come through compro­mise and mutual guaran­tees.

The countries which are party to this conflict are members of the United Nations, and are thus committed to the UN Charter’s core prin­ciple of settling inter­na­tional conflicts by peaceful means (Chapter VI of the UN Charter) or, if that fails, by coll­ec­tive action led by the Secu­rity Council (Chapter VII). Membership in regional orga­ni­sa­tions and/or mili­tary alli­ances does not render the above principles invalid. As for unila­teral action by Perma­nent Members of the Secu­rity Council to block decis­ions from being taken, the Veto Initia­tive by Liech­ten­stein or the appli­ca­tion of provi­sion 27.3 of the Charter shows the way forward
for such situa­tions in future.

While looking up to the UN Secre­tary-General to deliver on the above, we request that all those who hold high office in count­ries and inter­na­tional organiza­tions, and thus have the power to change the course of events, act in that direc­tion imme­dia­tely. This would give real meaning and useful­ness to this year’s world leaders’ gathe­ring in New York. We cannot rewrite the past, but we can write the future for a world, where all people can live decent lives in peace, free of fear and want. Economic and tech­no­lo­gical compe­ti­tion may continue, the same applies for poli­tical inte­rests and concerns. But war has to end, if we want to avoid situa­tions where attempted winner-takes-all approa­ches more often than not lead to having only losers in the end.

7 September 2022

List of signatories as follows:

1 ABU-NUWAR Abdul Muniem
2
AGUILAR Pilar
3
AKOPYAN David
4
AMODEO Marghe­rita
5
ANDERSEN Terje
6
ANGELO J.Victor
7
ASKWITH Michael
8
BÁEZ Julio A
9
BANERJEE Ajit M
10
BEIGBEDER Yves
11
BERLINGHOF Barbara
12
BETTELLI Paola
13
BHALLA Karu­nesh
14
BIELLIK Robin
15
BODDEN Vernett
16
BORCHARDT Katha­rina
17
BREINES Inge­borg
18
BURBIDGE Robert
19
BURLEY John
20
CAILLIEZ Elize
21
CARRASCO-BATTIN Lucia
22
CHATURVEDI Suvira
23
CHAVEZ María-Luisa
24
CLAYCOMB Paula
25
COHEN Robert
26
COOK MAUDE Denise
27
COPPENS Bert­rand
28
COSTA-ESNARD Aurora Lola
29
DAHL Arthur
30
DAMEN Conradus
31
DAVIS Gary E
32
DE LA FUENTE Brenda
33
DE VITA Maria Gabri­ella
34
DE ZAYAS Alfred
35
DICK Alain
36
DJIBO Boubacar
37
DONINI Antonio
38
EVANGELISTA Douglas
39
FLORES Gilberto
40
FOX-PRZEWORSKI Joanne
41
FRANCAIS Ariel
42
FREEMAN Carl
43
GANIATSOS Thomas
44
GARCIA MENDEZ Emilio
45
GARDNER Douglas
46
GELDOF Lynn
47
GIBBONS Eliza­beth
48
GORLICK Brian
49
GRANT Eliza­beth
50
GRIEGER Wolf­gang
51
GROSE Kevin
52
GUINDO Adama
53
GULUMA Esther
54
GURNEY Michael
55
GURUN Sema
56
HADJ-HAMMOU Nadir
57
HALLIDAY Denis J.
58
HARRISON Richard
59
HEYN Michael
60
HIGHAM Andrew
61
HIJAB Nadia
62
HOEFFEL Paul
63
INGRAM Joseph
64
JENSEN Tomas
65
JOSEPH Carol
66
KAHANE Matthew
67
KAHLON Himmet
68
KAKUCSKA Peter
69
KANNINEN Tapio
70
KLECKNER Simone
71
KOEHLER Gabriele
72
KOLLIES Ute
73
KOSTAKOS Geor­gios
74
KRONFOL Fouad
75
LANDON Carole
76
LECOMTE DU NOUY Patricia
77
LEE Donald
78
LEITNER Kerstin
79
LEWIS Gary
80
MALDONADO Maria Delia
81
MALHOTRA Kamal
82
MANUEL Susan
83
MARTIN Mary
84
MARTINEZ Theresa
85
MENON Saras­wathi
86
MEYLAHN Angela
87
MIMICOPOULOS Michael
88
MOLINIER Cécile
89
MOUSOURIS Sotiris
90
MURRAY Gillian
91
NELSON Janet
92
NILAND Norah
93
NORTON Chris­tine
94
OCKWELL Ron
95
OLVER Richard
96
OSORIO Maria Clara
97
PÉREZ DEL CASTILLO Gonzalo
98
REYNOLDS Phil
99
RICKARD-MARTIN Loraine
100
RIDDLE Margaret
101
ROBERFROID Andre
102
RUSSELL Andrew
103
RYAN Jordan
104
SACKSTEIN Edward
105
SCHUMANN Peter
106
SEVAN Benon
107
SIERRA Enrique
108
SKURATOWICZ Jerzy
109
SLUTKIN Gary
110
SUZUKI Rie
111
SWIETERING Jan
112
SZAL Richard
113
TABLANTE Zenaida
114
TAKASE Chikako
115
TAMAGNINI Andrea
116
THALMANN Anne-Marie
117
TOLMIE Ellen
118
TORTORA Manuela
119
TOSO Fran­cesca
120
URSINO Steven
121
VAN DRUNEN Jiddo
122
VANDEMOORTELE Jan
123
VANDEWEERD Veerle
124
VAZQUEZ Lilia
125
WEISBROT Barada
126
WILLIAMS Michael
127
ZHAGORA Vladimir
128
ZVEKIC Ugljesa

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