Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Editor
ZIMBABWE is hosting the fourth meeting of the National Coordinators of the Group of Friends in Defence of the United Nations Charter in Harare.
The meeting is being held in line with the doctrines “A Friend to All and Enemy to None”, as well as “Zimbabwe will Forever be a Sovereign and Independent State”.
Delegates from countries including Iran, Nicaragua, Palestine and China are attending the high-level discussions aimed at strengthening adherence to the United Nations Charter and reinforcing collective approaches to international challenges.
Opening the meeting, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira said the UN Charter, established in 1945, must be defended and adapted to reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.
“The meeting must reaffirm our unflinching opposition to the use of unilateral coercive measures based on arbitrary and selfish justifications. Zimbabwe has continued to welcome the unwavering resolve of the Group to continue advocating for the complete, immediate and unconditional lifting of all unilateral coercive measures and blockades imposed outside the framework of the United Nations Security Council.
“It is important that we adopt a strategic and evidence- based approach to our advocacy, informed by data, legal analysis, and lived experiences that clearly demonstrate the far-reaching humanitarian and developmental impact of such measures, especially against the generality of the citizens of the sanctioned countries,” he said.
He added that the meeting must uphold the firm opposition to coercive unilateral measures.
“For Zimbabwe, effective multilateralism, as enshrined in Article 2(1) of the Charter of the United Nations, rests on the sovereign equality of all States, as well as the respect for non-interference in their internal affairs. It entails the peaceful settlement of disputes and provides a framework for collective action to address global challenges and advance shared prosperity and sustainable development.
“Excellencies, it is for these reasons that this Group remains important to the work of the United Nations. Now more than ever, the world needs Member States committed to the defence of the Charter of the United Nations, its purposes and principles, the upholding of international law, and the promotion of genuine multilateralism.”
The meeting comes after Zimbabwe’s landslide victory at the United Nations Security Council Elections on the third of this month.
The Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations is an 18-member grouping established in July 2021 at the UN in New York and in 2023 at the UN in Geneva.
The group aims to preserve, promote and defend the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including the sovereign equality of States, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States, peaceful settlement of disputes, and multilateralism and diplomacy over unilateral action.
