HCHR_ The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations is a grouping at the United Nations, established in July 2021, in New York, by 17 UN Member States, namely: Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Laos, Nicaragua, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Palestine, Syria, and Venezuela.
Subsequently, Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe, and Mali have joined the Group, expanding its current membership to 20 countries. Five additional countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Namibia, South Africa, and Vietnam), as well as Mali (now an official member), participated as guests and/or observer(s) at the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends.
The main goal of the Group is to the UN Charter, seeking to promote multilateralism and diplomacy over the use of force. Other objectives pursued by the Group include promoting international law, coordinating joint initiatives to strengthen respect for the goals and principles contained in the UN Charter as well as the values of dialogue, tolerance, solidarity, and peaceful coexistence among nations.
The Group of Friends has operated in New York since its establishment in July 2021, and during the first quarter of 2023, its activities were initiated in Geneva.
It held its first meeting in Tehran in November 2022.
Group of Friends: Dominant Pole Uses UN Charter to Its Advantage
The founders of the Group, while acknowledging the remarkable achievements of the United Nations over the last 70 years in the fields of peace and security and international cooperation, especially in human rights, decolonization, sustainable economy and social development, eradication of diseases and disarmament, emphasized on the inability of the United Nations to realize the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter and effectively deal with emerging international challenges.
In this regard, the resort of some world powers to unilateralism to advance their political goals is one of the most critical factors that have led to the weakening of the United Nations Charter and multilateralism as the central core of the Charter.
Certain Countries’ Violation of UN Charter Principles
Members of the Group of Friends believe the imposition of unilateral coercive measures, including the slapping of sanctions against independent countries and interference in their domestic affairs, has violated not only the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter but also seriously challenged the efforts of the international community to deal with common challenges.
Therefore, the Member States emphasize on the necessity of implementing and promoting the principles contained in the United Nations Charter, including respect for equality and national sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of countries, non-interference in their domestic affairs, avoiding threats or resorting to force against other countries, and the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
They concur that double standards, along with selective approaches or vague and self-consistent interpretations of the provisions of the UN Charter to advance political goals of a dubious nature, a grave insult to the international rule of law and disregard for the public good and the collective interests of the people of the UN Member States represent one of the main threats to the inclusiveness, validity, and universality of the Charter, which includes a unique achievement for humanity and complete trust in the righteous nature of humankind.
The Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations believes that strengthening multilateralism and the multipolar system based on mutual respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, as well as respect for the principle of equal rights and the right of nations to make decisions, the rule of law, diplomacy, political discourse, tolerance, peaceful coexistence, respect for diversity, inclusivity, a culture of peace and non-violence, and due respect for existing differences are all instrumental for constructive and effective cooperation on common issues of interest and concern.
The Members of the Group of Friends emphasize on respecting the countries’ decisions in refusing to align with and remaining neutral in any tension. They believe such an approach will continue to play an essential role in developing peaceful, friendly and mutually beneficial relations between countries and consolidating a multilateral system in which diversity is accepted and respected. At the same time, they also emphasize the importance of ensuring that developing countries do not become an arena for geostrategic competition between major players.
The Members of the Group of Friends have consistently called on the UN Secretariat to strictly follow the Charter, especially the provisions of Article 100, in performing its duties, according to its mission, including when implementing the resolutions of the General Assembly and those of the Security Council.
Gharibabadi: Emphasizing, Expanding Multilateralism a Main Duty of Group of Friends
The sidelines of the 53rd Session of the Human Rights Council were an excellent opportunity for the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations to discuss and exchange opinions about common issues and the goals and plans.
The meeting of the Group was of particular importance and was welcomed by the participants, owing to the presence of the Iranian delegation in Geneva headed by Dr. Kazem Gharibabadi, the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Referring to the Group of Friends manifesto, Dr. Gharibabadi emphasized: “One of the primary responsibilities of the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations, which is made up of several countries from around the world, is to emphasize multilateralism and expand this critical issue.”
The Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights said: “Unfortunately, some important provisions of the UN Charter are left unimplemented and deliberately ignored. For instance, principles such as the equality of sovereignty of all countries, the peaceful resolution of disputes, non-interference in the internal affairs of others, and prohibition of the use or threat of force are violated due to the unilateral measures implemented by certain countries. Some of the most important objectives of the Charter have not even been fulfilled.”
Gharibabadi also presented a detailed report of the measures implemented by the Islamic Republic of Iran in human rights, which were hailed by the members of the Group of Friends. He also offered a documented account of the widespread violations of the human rights of women and children in America and certain Western countries such as France, Germany, and England.
He further touched upon the events of last fall in Iran and provided enlightening explanations about the riots, which spanned from an all-out hybrid war against the Country to terrorist acts and widespread amnesty for convicts and accused.
Gharibabadi’s Report Attracts Group of Friends’ Attention
After the 30-minute report of the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights, the members present in the meeting, who had taken points from revelations offered by Gharibabadi, presented their points.
The members of the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations hailed Iran’s measures in human rights and strongly criticized what they called the biased and contradictory positions of the Western countries vis-à-vis human rights.
Welcoming the enlightening report of the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights, the representative of Russia considered as an essential matter the comparison of different similar events in the world and the contradictory approaches of some countries to these events by Gharibabadi.
He said certain Western countries exploit human rights to interfere in the affairs of independent nations and put pressure on countries whose performance is not desired by the West.
The representative of Belarus also hailed Gharibabadi’s report as very important.
Referring to the report and confirming the widespread violations of women's and children’s rights in Western countries, he emphasized that there are egregious human rights violations in the West that must be taken into consideration.
Adding that there are widespread violations of children’s rights in the West, the representative of Belarus stressed that holding an emergency human rights session against Iran was unfair.
The representative of Belarus also described the explanation of the representative of Iran in the session in question as very good and helpful.
He added that the current situation in France is a clear example of double standards.
The representative of Belarus pointed to the riots in different countries and said: Violent incidents in countries opposed to the policies of the West are introduced as peaceful protests!
Appreciating Gharibabadi’s comprehensive report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the representative of Zimbabwe hailed the measures taken by the Government to promote human rights in the Country.
In an interesting statement, the representative of Syria pointed to the Syriaization of Iran and emphasized that the scheme hatched for Syria is planned to be implemented for Iran as well.
He also touched upon the rumors and lies published on social media, which sparked violence and terrorist acts in the streets.
Everyone in the meeting stressed that independent countries should take action concerning human rights violations in Western countries, such as France, and their double standard practices so that the governments that claim to defend human rights are held accountable for their actions.