Nothing could have been a worse background for the opening of the 79th UN General Assembly than the news of Israel’s massive bombing campaign of Lebanon’s civilian population.

During the open debate ‘Leadership in the name of peace’, the prince said that restoring respect for international conventions and norms is achieved through the application of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as bringing violators to justice without differentiation. He emphasised that the lack of serious international action to end Israel’s ongoing military escalation is convincing proof of the shortcomings of the multilateral international system and the weakness of international political will. “The Kingdom believes that peace is the foundation that paves the way for cooperation and development and guarantees their sustainability”, the Saudi prince said.

Prince Faisal said that the meeting is taking place at a time when the velocity of conflicts and crises is increasing, common challenges and threats are multiplying and the crisis of confidence in the multilateral international system and its ability to meet peoples’ hopes for a peaceful future and development is growing. “These circumstances require us to assess the state of international multilateral actions and the reasons for their decline in crisis resolution and solving common problems”, he added.

Prince Faisal stated that Saudi Arabia “will continue to support the multilateral international system, strive to develop it and contribute to the achievement of its goals to restore confidence in its institutions. Saudi Arabia is also committed to strengthening collective action to achieve common security and development”.

The modern UN is an irrelevant organisation

The competent opinion of the Saudi prince – more than anyone else – confirms the long-held view that the UN, as an organisation, is becoming irrelevant because of its inability to organise, project and even impose peace. After........

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