Excerpts from Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s remarks in conversation with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Holguín and Ambassador Loose
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
US Representative to the United Nations
Quito, Ecuador
March 29, 2023
AS DELIVERED
ASK: (Translated.) In your opinion, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, what are the key issues to be dealt with in the UN Security Council?
AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD: The most important issue we deal with every day in the Security Council is the issue of peace and security. That’s what we were created for: dealing with issues of peace and security around the world. That now means that every time we’re there, three to four times a week, we’re dealing with different regions of the world. Of course, Ukraine is the focus almost every week. I think today in the Security Council there will be a meeting convened by the Ukrainians on Ukraine.
But we also deal with other topics. For example for this region why it is so important to have Ecuador on the Council, we deal with issues related to Haiti; we are dealing with the Colombian peace plan; We deal with migration issues where Ecuador’s voice is an important voice to bring the regional perspective – to bring your own perspective, but also to bring the regional perspective to the table when we sit in Council. And I have to say it was an extraordinary – for me an extraordinary reward – to have Ecuador on the Council, for Ecuador to take a principled stand on the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine, for example, for Ecuador to bring the regional issue to the table, perspective where I may not have the same perspective; I can hear my colleagues’ perspectives, and those perspectives are important to others on the Council.
ASK: (Translated.) Some time ago you spoke about the importance of being on the Council, because the Council has the ability to listen to all countries. So what makes the work of the Security Council relevant to Latin America, the Caribbean and Ecuador?
AMBASSADOR THOMAS GREENFIELD: That’s probably the most important question for this audience and I think for Ecuador. There are issues that we are dealing with in the Council where Latin America needs to be heard. Today that voice is heard in Ecuador. As I mentioned earlier, there are issues related to Haiti, issues related to Colombia, but not just issues in that region. Look at the DPRK. The DPRK has launched seven nuclear weapons over the course of this year – tested seven nuclear weapons* and we have not called upon them – over the course of two years** and we have not called upon them to do so. They have broken numerous Security Council resolutions. It is very important to hear the voice of Ecuador on this issue in the DPRK – through the DPRK.
We’ve had 20 open sessions of the DPRK Security Council in the past two years, and yet they continue to test. So you need to hear that it’s not just the United States, it’s the rest of the world — it’s Latin America, it’s Africa, it’s other countries in Asia that are speaking out against what they’re doing.
To hear what is happening in Iran in relation to women. We have seen women in Iran being killed in the streets for not wearing their hijab properly. The world also needs to hear your voices on these issues.
So it’s not just the problems in your region; These are global issues where you have a say in what the Security Council discusses and you have a say in Security Council decisions.
ASK: (Translated.) As a woman, you’ve followed an empowered women’s tradition of leading the US mission to the UN since 2013: Susan Rice, Rosemary DiCarlo, Samantha Power, Michele Sison, Nikki Haley, Kelly Craft, and now you. As you have been entrusted with the very important responsibility of representing the US before the Council, how do you think you will continue to advance women’s equal participation in decision-making?
AMBASSADOR THOMAS GREENFIELD: Thank you for that question, and we’ve had a long — we’ve had a long list of PR women at the United Nations. One name you didn’t mention was Madeleine Albright, who was a mentor to so many of us, who passed away last year. And I really feel like out of all the previous PR women I really looked to her as a role model for what I should be doing on the Security Council.
But we said very, very clearly: one of our priorities in the Security Council – and I think we all agree on that – is that women, peace and security must come first. They must be included in every resolution. We must ensure that the voices of women in the Council are heard, as are the voices of women in civil society. So we regularly bring voices from civil society to the Council and we insist that those voices include women.
For example, we worked very hard to blame Iran for the situation in Iran where this young woman lost her life, and we were able – and I think it had to do with the fact that there are five women on the Security Council now , but a large number of women in the General Assembly, and we have all urged that Iran should not sit on the Commission on the Status of Women given what they are doing against women in Iran. And we won that vote, and that was extremely important. (Applause.)
And I’ll go back with a comment on Madeleine Albright. When Madeleine Albright was on the Security Council, she started a group called the Group of Seven, and she told me about it when I took the job. So when I came to New York and found that there were only five women on the Security Council, I called Madeleine and said, “Since you’ve been here, we’ve lost ground.” And she said, “No, there were only seven Women throughout the General Council” when she was there. And now we’re almost 50, I think, or at least almost 50, and there are five of us on the Security Council. And we work very, very diligently to ensure that women’s voices are not forgotten.
ASK: (Translated.) The Security Council has been paralyzed over the past year largely due to a lack of unity among the permanent members on fundamental aspects of peace and security and important issues such as the excessive use of force in the Israel/Palestinian conflict. So how do we unravel the Security Council’s agenda, and what is the role of non-permanent members in trying to move this process forward?
AMBASSADOR THOMAS GREENFIELD: I would get the tough question. (Laughter) No, we hear a lot of comments that the Security Council isn’t working because of the P5. There are issues on which we don’t agree, but believe it or not, there are many issues on which we actually agree. We were able to get a resolution on Haiti through the Security Council. We were able to get the Syrian border crossings extended, with all members of the Council voting in favor of this resolution. And if you look back, there were a number of resolutions where the whole council supported those resolutions. For example, it is rare for the United States to exercise its right of veto. We have – it didn’t happen and I should knock on wood since I joined the council.
The areas where we have difficulties – Ukraine, of course. You have a member of the Security Council attacking the UN Charter. We will not meet in the Security Council on this issue, which is why we have shifted power to the General Assembly, and we have won every time we have pre-General Assembly votes against Russia. And I thank Ecuador for your support in this regard.
With regard to Israel and Palestine, the US position was clear. We support a two-state solution that will bring peace, security and protection to both Israelis and Palestinians, and we discourage efforts by either side to take steps that would take us further from that. The Council approved a PRST on Israel-Palestine last month.
This is how we find areas in which we can cooperate. We know the areas where we will not work together. We are strong – the United States – on human rights. We tend to have strong disagreements with the Russians and Chinese, who do not want human rights to be included in the Council. Human rights are peace and security issues. We need to raise these issues in Council. We need to raise issues related to women, peace and security in the Council because it is about peace and security in general.
So I will continue to look for areas where we can work together, but I will fight tooth and nail in the areas where we have disagreements and those disagreements challenge the values and the rules of implementation of the UN Charter and as it can be seen.
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*seven ballistic – tested seven ballistic missiles
** this year
