Macron defends international law and multilateralism at UN — The Guardian

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, United States, said there is a need to defend international law, multilateralism and a rules-based world order. As The Guardian writes, his speech offered an alternative to the vision of US President Donald Trump, who also spoke on the first day of the General Assembly session.

Macron said the world is experiencing a new era of barbaric acts. He criticized Russia, an aggressor state, and Israel, and warned against a new order of impunity. The French president stressed that the world must not accept an approach under which might makes right, contrasting the law of the jungle with a civilized international society.

Western double standards

The French president also spoke about the West's persistent temptation to apply double standards. According to him, the sovereignty of peoples cannot have different value depending on whether Europe, the Middle East or Africa is concerned. Macron added that peace and security are indivisible and that every person has a right to them.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

The Guardian columnist Steve Bloomfield believes that Macron's speech may have influenced the tone of subsequent addresses by leaders of the so-called middle powers. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the UN's mission cannot be entrusted only to great powers or the loudest voices. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on countries to unite against political forces and governments that, he said, seek to return the world to a dark past.

Initiatives of middle powers

The author of the column links several international initiatives to new alliances based on shared values. In particular, the European Union and Canada discussed the idea of associate membership, while the United Kingdom formed a coalition of middle powers to impose sanctions over what the author describes as Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank.

Finland and Norway also called at the UN General Assembly for the creation of an international body to oversee the safety of artificial intelligence models. The appeal was signed by 27 world leaders, including Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Albanese.