US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took centre-stage at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to address world leaders on the war in Ukraine that has divided the global body. Biden has urged world leaders to stand with Kyiv against Russian aggression, while also touching on Washington’s tense relationship with China.
The leader of Paraguay, one of a dwindling number of countries that recognise Taiwan, called Tuesday for its readmission to the United Nations in recognition of its democratic credentials.
Addressing the General Assembly, President Santiago Pena said that the world body should reflect “participatory, democratic and equitable practices” in line with the United Nations Charter. In this light, Paraguay expresses its support for the Republic of China – Taiwan – to be an integral part of the United Nations,” Pena said.
His remarks come as China steps up pressure to exclude Taiwan entirely from international bodies.
Zelenskyy’s words made headlines, but it is not clear if UN officials were listening. Two weeks earlier, United Nations investigators in Kyiv confirmed that they had not yet conclusively established whether Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine. Erik Mose, who heads the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, informed journalists in the Ukrainian capital that while his investigation was ongoing, “as of now, we do not have sufficient evidence to meet the legal qualifications of the Genocide Convention.”
The cautious approach adopted by United Nations investigators sparked considerable anger and exasperation, but it is not entirely surprising. After all, the legal bar for determining genocide is necessarily high. Crucially, in order to confirm that a genocide is taking place, evidence of the relevant war crimes must be supported by conclusive proof of genocidal intent. In this case, efforts to demonstrate Russia’s genocidal intent will be bolstered by the unprecedented amount of genocidal rhetoric coming from senior Kremlin officials and regime propagandists in Moscow over a period stretching back at least fifteen years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has set the tone for Russia’s viciously anti-Ukrainian public dialogue and has frequently engaged in what could be classed as genocidal language. He routinely asserts that Ukrainians are actually Russians (“one people”), and has repeatedly denied Ukraine’s right to exist while insisting the country is guilty of occupying “historical Russian lands.” In one particularly chilling recent outburst in September 2023, Putin denounced the “anti-human essence” of the modern Ukrainian state.
Such dehumanization is widely recognized as an important indicator of genocidal intent. Others throughout the Russian establishment have enthusiastically echoed Putin. According to research conducted by the Washington-based New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights in Montreal, Russia’s state-orchestrated incitement to genocide includes “the denial of the existence of a Ukrainian identity” by senior Russian officials and state media.
Source: Reuters
In other news – Former Generations actor Vuyo Dabula joins Uzalo
Former Generations: The Legacy actor, Vuyo Dabula who played the role of Gadaffi is making a comeback on our small screens.
Dabula is joining the cast of the popular SABC 1 drama, Uzalo, which is shot on location in KwaMashu and the city of Durban in KwaZulu Natal. Read more
