Citing the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts and other military battles killing civilians on a “horrendous” scale, Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan urged the United Nations system to “return to the basics” amid a “deficit of global leadership”. Balakrishnan delivered Singapore’s national statement at the General Debate of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York on 28 September 2024. In this speech, he reiterated several times that Singapore was a “small state” and, as such, saw a rules-based world as an absolute necessity, not an optional luxury.
He told the UNGA gathering emphatically, “We cannot allow recent violations of international law to become normalised.” Without mincing words, Balakrishnan said, “The ongoing war in Ukraine exemplifies a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter. The invasion of one country by another, under the pretext of historical errors and grievances, cannot be justified by any means.
” At the very beginning of his speech, the Singapore minister focused on the small landmass of his country and then moved straight into the current “acutely dangerous phase” of the world. Always happy to meet my close friend UAE DPM and FM Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We are grateful for the UAE and Cyprus' assistance in delivering Singapore’s fourth tranche of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
We discussed ways to do even more together. pic.twitter.
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