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Mr. President, Excellency, let me start by thanking the United States Ambassador, Mrs. Linda Thomas Greenfield, and her team for the excellent way in which they conducted the work of the Security Council during the month of May.

I would also like to thank the President of the International Court of Justice, Joan E. Donoghue, and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right, Michelle Bachelet, and the Oxford University professor Dapo Akande, for the important information provided.

Colleagues, differences in opinions, disagreements and divisions are not unusual in this Council or in the wider UN membership. They are part of life, including the international life as well. But they are magnified if we focus only on the here and the now, on the everyday politics and concerns for short-term goals and narrow interests.

Yet, underneath such obvious arguments, fundamental values still exist and it is them that make the international community get together.

These values represent the moral bonds that render the International Community a community, where the sum is always more than its individual parts.

Such values and norms are sanctions on what we commonly call the international law.

They reveal a true meaning and real power in times of difficulty, of crisis, of conflicts and wars.

As we know, they haven’t come easy. Tens of millions of people have had to die before we could discover and accept basic principles of the international law.

States have created vast body of law to regulate their behaviour and have voluntarily committed to abide by it. Millions more have been sacrificed for us to accept our collective responsibility to abide by the rules and hold ourselves to account, when we are unable or unwilling to respect them.

Yet, our basic values enshrined on a growing body of the international law, humanitarian law, international human rights law and the international criminal law, continue to be systematically and grossly violated.

Distinguished delegates,

All serious violations of the international law must be treated with the same level of fairness and determination, because they are part of the same problem.

As per the wise words by Martin Luther King “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As we speak and reiterate the need for upholding our shared values and norms, we are all aware that both are under enormous stress. We know that when we fail to stand up firmly and assume our collective responsibility, when we fail to uphold the right to truth, the right to justice and the right to an effective remedy and reparation, our institutions grow weaker and public trust fades away.

We are then left with frustration and impatience about lack of progress, about absence of delivery and with the perpetrators looming large.

War crimes, crimes against humanity and other gross violations of the human rights undermine the very fabric of entire societies. We have seen how they destabilize states jeopardise whole regions, threatening the international peace and security. The case of the 11-year conflict in Syria is a tragic example.

In failing to hold Syrian regime accountable for the crimes it has committed against its own people, we may have encouraged atrocities elsewhere.

But failure to address all the violations everywhere should not be a reason to not act anywhere. This brings me to the ongoing tragic Russian aggression on Ukraine.

This reprehensible act has violated everything this Council stands for; the values, the norms, the law and the respect we owe each other as responsible members of the same community of nations. An unprovoked, an unjustified and totally illegal war has caused pain to the entire Ukrainian nation, it has challenged the European security, has shaken the world economy and, by exacerbating food security, is causing undue pain to millions of people worldwide.

Horrible crimes are being uncovered every day. This calls for accountability.

Crimes should not and must not go unpunished. Albania has been and will continue to be at the forefront of the efforts to deliver justice and deter further and future crimes.

Colleagues, we must demonstrate actions and not only words. We need to say now more than ever “never again”. With our actions and not our words, we owe it to the millions of victims of genocide in Srebrenica, Rwanda and Darfur. We owe it to all of those that have weathered atrocities, massacres and crimes against humanity. We owe it to the countless silent faces that are often invisible, victims of the unforgivable sexual crimes such as the 20,000 women brutally violated in the face ethnic cleansing in Kosovo 1998-‘99.

We owe it to the broken faces of the millions of children that have been deprived of their future by aggressors. It is why it is of utmost importance for us all to firmly and continually resist any and all attempts to deny or give any sense of context to these odious crimes. Glorification of the criminals and denial of genocide are direct calls for violence. These calls must be condemned unequivocally.

To strengthen what we have achieved and build new tools to address new challenges. We owe it to our children. We owe it to the children of the world. Accountability breeds responsibility. Responsibility leads to actions. Action reinforces justice and justice contributes to peace. Without strong and effective accountability, our shared norms and values will wither away. We must not let the violations become the norm. Perpetrators should not have a place in our world, but only in theirs, behind the bars, just like it happened for Slobodan Milosevic, for Charles Taylor and for their likes, those who put themselves not just about the laws, but also outside the very basic law of humanity. We must make impunity history.

Justice, this indispensable companion of truth must prevail in the name of our shared humanity.

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The Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations and Security Council President for the month of June, Ferit Hoxha, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday outlined Albania’s priorities and the Council’s work program for the month of June 2022.

“Albania’s priorities for the month join our overall priorities of our mandate in the Council and they are closely related to five key areas, namely respecting the international law, strengthening accountability, advancement of women, peace and security agenda, the relations of the UN with regional and sub-regional organizations and the working methods of the Council,” Hoxha said.

Ambassador Hoxha underlined that upholding the international law and promotion of the human rights are at the core of Albania’s foreign policy and at the core of Albania’s priority during the country’s mandate in the Security Council.

“For far too long, we have watched mass human rights abuses and the international community is struggling to hold perpetrators of serious crimes to account. We cannot and must not become familiar with impunity. There is an urgency to act now and on behalf and on the name of countless victims of senseless conflicts; the abused women of Kosovo, for the grieving mothers of Bosnia, for the children of Ukraine, for the nameless victims in Tigray region, for the Azara in Afghanistan, for Yazidis in Iraq, for Rohyngias, for the political prisoners in Myanmar and Sudan, for the detainees in Syria, for all the journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty, for everyone, everywhere, whose rights have been denied, whose future has been buried, whose dreams have been shattered  by abuse,” Hoxha said.

Ambassador Hoxha highlighted that there is a need to do more, better and faster to defend UN Charter and to preserve multilateralism.

“We must do everything in our power to recommit to the core norms and values and redouble our efforts to enforce compliance and stop transgression, because if the international law is not respected it would simply remain a paper that is printed upon,” he stated.

Hoxha noted that all the UN members have a role to play and Albania is doing its part.

“This is all about the signature event due to take place tomorrow under the leadership and the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Edi Rama. The briefers of this event also include the President of the International Court of Justice, Joan Donoghue, the UN High Commissioner for  Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and Oxford University professor Dapo Akande, as well as civil society representatives,” he announced.

Albanian ambassador said that women, peace and security is the second priority of Albania’s Presidency of UN Security Council.

“In accordance with our priorities as a signatory of the Statement of the Shared Commitments with other Council members, Albania will champion women, peace and security and make it a key priority also during our Presidency for the month of June. Therefore, our second signature event will be held on June 15, which is set to be a high-level open debate on women, peace and security entitled ‘Keeping Promises: Role of regional organizations in implementing women peace and security agenda in the face of the political turmoil. The debate will be chaired by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs,” he announced.

According to Hoxha, Albania’s third item of importance relates to the informal working group on documentation and the annual debate on the working methods will be held on June 28.

The fourth item of primary importance, according to Hoxha, is concerns the cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations.

“Albanian Presidency will organize a high-level briefing on cooperation between the United Nations Organization and the European Union. The very turbulent situation in the world caused also by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the huge and increasing humanitarian needs across the world give more incentives to the need for a stronger UN-EU cooperation, especially in the political, humanitarian and human rights aspects. The EU is also involved in the implementation of various UN Security Council mandates,” Hoxha said.

He also announced that the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Olta Xhaçka will chair the meeting and the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is expected to attend.

According to Albania’s Permanent Representative, the UN Security Council will convene to discuss situation in Ukraine during this month.

“The first meeting on Ukraine will take place on June 6, focusing on issue of sexual violence in conflict zones and trafficking in human beings. We intend to keep issue of Ukraine high on the agenda and we will meet as often as the reality on the ground would require,” Hoxha added.

The Ambassador also said that two meetings are scheduled to take place on political and humanitarian aspects in Syria and Yemen.

Albania was elected a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the period 2022-2023, where it also took over the co-penholder with the United States of America on Ukraine issue.

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