Meeting of the Geneva Chapter of the Group of Friends with the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, H.E. Mrs. Tatiana Valovaya

The Ambassadors of the Member States of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, Geneva Chapter, held a first meeting with H.E. Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the Office of the United Nations Office at Geneva, which provided an opportunity for presenting this platform, including its purposes and goals, that comprises a cross-cutting group of countries committed to the defense of multilateralism.

Ambassador Hector Constant Rosales, Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations in Geneva, thanked the Director-General for her attention and pointed out the full commitment of this Group of Friends to advance and achieve full respect for international law, through the promotion, defense, primacy and validity of the UN Charter.

Ambassador Constant Rosales explained to the Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva that the Group of Friends promotes the most essential principles of international law, such as respect for sovereignty, equality of States, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, peaceful settlement of disputes and adherence to international law, as enshrined in the UN Charter. In this regard, he emphasized, among others, the group's firm condemnation of the imposition of unilateral coercive measures that contravene international norms and violate the enjoyment of human rights of the affected populations.

He also recalled that, in Geneva, the Group of Friends has already actively participated in the works of the UNCTAD, the Human Rights Council and the Humanitarian Segment of ECOSOC, among others, including through the delivery of 16 joint statements, since March 2023.

For her part, Ms. Valovaya referred to the importance of multilateralism, as expressed by the UN Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. António Guterres, in the report entitled "Our Common Agenda", in which he calls for an inclusive, interconnected and effective multilateralism to better respond and deliver results for people and the planet, and for the world to take action towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Finally, the Venezuelan Ambassador reiterated to Director-General Valovaya the conviction of the Group of Friends to work constructively with all UN Member States, in order to achieve common goals, including the SDGs, as well as to overcoming the challenges faced by the world, especially those currently faced, with greater intensity, by the developing countries.