Melnyk: UN must return to its roots and focus on ending wars

He made this statement in an interview with Ukrinform. 

“Ideally, the UN was created not only to verbally condemn aggression when it has already occurred, but to find real ways to stop it,” the diplomat emphasized.

According to him, a return to this approach – “back to the roots” – would be an unconditional plus for Ukraine. Melnyk stressed that the key issue is understanding the basic purpose of the organization's creation – maintaining international peace and security and having the tools to actually stop military invasions.

He noted that over the past decades, the priorities of the UN system have changed significantly, which is also reflected in the structure of the organization's budget. In particular, about 32-33% of funds are allocated to development assistance, and another 30% to humanitarian aid. 

At the same time, according to Melnyk, only about 17% of the budget is allocated to the UN's core function of maintaining peace and security, which is used to finance peacekeeping missions, among other things.

“However, there is currently no systematic understanding among member states that peace and security should once again become the main function of the UN,” he said.

The Permanent Representative of Ukraine stressed that intellectual, political, financial, and managerial resources should be directed primarily toward preventing wars, and if they have already begun, toward ending them as quickly as possible. According to him, without this, all other areas of the UN's activities ultimately lose their meaning. 

Melnyk also spoke about his close contacts with US Permanent Representative to the UN Mike Waltz, whom he described as a professional with unique experience and a deep understanding of Ukrainian issues. 

“I use every opportunity to explain Ukraine's position and enlist his personal support,” the diplomat said. 

In addition, he spoke about his contacts with UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, who previously served as Germany's foreign minister. According to him, she was surprised to learn about the existence of a powerful Ukrainian community in the center of New York City—Ukrainian Village. 

The diplomat noted that the current role of the President of the General Assembly is not purely ceremonial and opens up opportunities to use her broad powers to support Ukraine.

As reported by Ukrinform, over the course of two weeks, the General Assembly, meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, supported three Ukrainian resolutions at once: on the return of deported children from Russia, overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, and human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories. 

Photo provided by Andriy Melnyk