Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations celebrates the Second Anniversary of its establishment, on the margins of the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

On 06 July 2021, the “Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations” was officially launched in New York.

Since then, this cross-regional grouping of 20 States, which recently expanded its scope of action to Geneva, has made significant progress and has positioned itself as an active, key and constructive player in the international arena.

Today, the “Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations” commemorates its second anniversary. A special communiqué was issued in New York, in which Member States renewed their commitment, among others, with the noble goals and objectives of this important platform.

Similarly, on the margins of the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Heads of Delegation of the Member States to the “Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations” had a social gathering to celebrate with solemnity such an auspicious anniversary.

In his remarks at the event, H.E. Mr. Yvan Gil-Pinto, Minister of the People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, emphasized that the grouping should feed proud of all it has achieved over the past two years, while calling on the further strengthening of the cohesion and coordination amongst Member States of the grouping, in order to better articulate their positions and interests on the wide range of issues that have already been identified and on which the membership have shared visions and ample commonalities.

He noted that the world is currently at a critical juncture and stressed that the “Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations” has therefore a historic task ahead, in light of the looming threats and systematic attacks on the UN Charter. Yet, he said, “I’m convinced that our grouping is up for this and any other task”.

Participants, on their part, renewed once again their firm commitment with the preservation, promotion and defense of the prevalence and validity of the Charter of the United Nations and the tenets enshrined in it, which are all indispensable not only for fostering international peace and security, the rule of law, economic development and social progress, but also for overcoming both the ongoing global multifaceted crisis and the common challenges humanity as a whole is currently facing.