STATEMENT BY
MR. AZRIL ABD AZIZ
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE PLENARY MEETING ON ITEM 135:
THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT AND THE PREVENTION OF GENOCIDE, WAR CRIMES, ETHNIC CLEANSING AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
NEW YORK, 17 MAY 2021
Mr. President,
My delegation thanks you for convening this plenary meeting. We welcome this opportunity for Member States to deliberate and exchange frank views on the Report of the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) as contained in document A/75/863. Our presence here in this august hall is testament to the common commitment made at the 2005 World Summit, to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
2. We note that the Secretary-General's report provides an overview of how R2P has and is being operationalised through the prevention, early warning and response work of the UN led by the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. My delegation is dismayed that despite the significant endorsement to the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire that was made during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict-related risks of atrocity crimes continue to rise. My delegation is also concerned with the rapid and alarming increase in hate speech and incitement to violence in the past few years given that they constitute as well-known risk factors for mass atrocity crimes like genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Mr. President,
3. For Malaysia, there is no doubt that the responsibility to protect starts at home. Building national capacities for prevention remains a key priority. On this, we agree with the Secretary-General that the international community should, as appropriate, encourage and help States to exercise this responsibility, including by working with national institutions in advancing prevention as part of a State-owned and sustainable effort. Nonetheless, the principles of sovereignty of States and consent should remain paramount when considering international assistance. We must bear in mind that every country differs in terms of political system; historical background; religious, ethnic and cultural make-up; and socio-economic conditions.
4. For Malaysia, non-military solutions should always be the first option as military interventions would only cause further human catastrophe. Malaysia will continue to support the utilisation of various non-military measures in efforts to respond to or prevent the escalation of atrocity crimes, including mediation, monitoring and observer mission, fact-finding mission, commission of inquiry, and public advocacy by international officials.
5. In this context, my delegation strongly supports the idea that prevention must become the rule, rather than the exception. The Security Council, General Assembly, Human Rights Council, Peacebuilding Commission, regional and sub-regional organisations can all enhance their contributions for the prevention of atrocity crimes by demonstrating greater willingness to consider and respond to the earliest signs of risk.
6. In this respect, we join others in calling for a restraint in the use of veto powers at the Security Council, especially in cases of atrocity crimes. For practical reasons, Malaysia is of the view that the exercise of veto should be regulated so as to allow the international community to promptly act in saving the lives of innocent people from brutal atrocities. Inaction in such situation should be avoided to allow the Council to carry out its mandate as prescribed by the UN Charter.
Mr. President,
7. In principle, Malaysia welcomes the noble intentions that R2P intends to accomplish. However, my delegation wishes to reiterate that R2P still requires continued and in-depth discussions by the international community to clearly define its understanding, applications, implementation, and effects on States on both international and internal dimensions. We believe that only through complete understanding and systematic application to all Member States, can we truly accept R2P as an international norm.
8. Having followed the many discourses on this topic since the World Summit in 2005, my delegation notes that there remains divergence of opinions among Member States on the concept, understanding and implementation of R2P, especially those that concern state sovereignty and international mandate to act. We see merit in having regular discussions on the issue so that we may have more opportunities to have enriched discussions and narrow our differences. The deficit in discussions leaves with it the continued lack of consensus and inaction in the part of the international community to address atrocities that may require urgent intervention.
9. To this end, Malaysia stands ready to work closely with the UN and its member states in the development of options to strengthen civilian action to prevent atrocity crimes. Malaysia sincerely hopes that with every debate, we will move closer to a point of convergence so we could respond effectively to mass atrocity crimes and ensure that such unspeakable tragedies will never recur.
Thank you, Mr. President.