Thank you, Mr. President.
The United States is deeply disappointed by the outcome of today’s vote. Today’s vote was nothing more than the attempt by one Council member to silence the independent, objective investigations into DPRK Security Council violations. There is simply no other honest way to view this.
It’s important to ask ourselves why. Why would any Council member not vote in support of this mandate renewal? Why would any Council member break the otherwise 14 years of unanimous adoption?
Just looking over the DPRK Panel of Experts’ reports, the answer is quite clear.
The Panel began reporting in the last year on Russia’s blatant violations of the UN Security Council resolutions, in addition to the DPRK’s persistent sanctions evasion efforts within Russia’s jurisdiction.
I provide this message to all Member States: Russia owns this failure. Russia is the reason you will no longer receive reports from the Panel of Experts.
Today’s vote will only embolden the DPRK to act with further impunity, as the DPRK jeopardizes global security through the development of long-range ballistic missiles and sanctions evasion efforts. This is not the behavior of a responsible Member State, let alone a permanent member of the Security Council.
And China – with its abstention – has once again shown us where it stands on curbing DPRK proliferation.
Colleagues, today was not the outcome the United States wanted, nor the outcome the rest of the Council members worked so hard over the last five weeks to avoid. The resolution before us was, in the United States’ view, far from ideal. But this resolution reflected our most sincere attempt at compromise and flexibility.
We commend our colleagues’ who put aside their differences in support of the Panel. But some proposals were simply unacceptable. Unprecedented attempts to silence the Panel and otherwise corrupt its independence have no place in any Committee. Just as egregious was the proposal to undermine all of the sanctions working to curb the DPRK’s unlawful pursuit of WMD and ballistic missiles.
You’ve heard us say it here before, but I’ll say it again: The United States will not reward the DPRK for its repeated violations of Security Council resolutions and attempts to undermine the global nonproliferation regime.
The DPRK sanctions need maintenance – not elimination – in order to effectively work, especially when it comes to building Member States awareness and capacity to protect against DPRK malicious cyber activity.
Moscow has done more today than simply obstruct the work of the 1718 Committee. Moscow has undermined the prospect of a peaceful, diplomatic resolution of one of the world’s most dangerous nuclear proliferation issues.
But let me be clear: Russia, you silenced the Panel of Experts today, but you will never silence those of us who stand in support of the global nonproliferation regime.
The Security Council resolutions and all of their measures against the DPRK’s unlawful pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, still remain. And it is the responsibility of every Member State to fully abide by these Security Council obligations.
The United States remains committed to continue to work with allies and willing partners to hold the DPRK and its defenders accountable for its actions.
Thank you, Mr. President.
###
Source: U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Speaker: Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternate Representative of the United States of America for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations (UN)
Format: Speech
China Policy Research 