Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has used his United Nations address to warn that the “abuse of the veto” power by some of the world’s superpowers has “serious implications” for all countries.

Despite that, Peters said New Zealand’s support for the UN remained “unwavering” and announced the country’s intention to campaign for a seat on the Security Council, though not until the 2039-40 term.

He also said more diplomacy and political leadership was needed across the globe as the world faced its worst challenges since World War II. He mentioned the “catastrophic and ruinous path” followed in Gaza, putting blame for the “misery” on both Hamas and Israel.

The speech to the UN General Assembly capped off a busy week for the deputy Prime Minister, who met with a number of world leaders on the sidelines of the annual event and spoke yesterday to the Security Council.

The council and its five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – were the focus of much of Peters’ speech on Friday.

While speaking about the “abuse” of the veto power, Peters made explicit reference to Russia.

He said the superpower had “acted in utter contempt” of the UN Charter when it “illegally invaded” Ukraine and then vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning its actions and calling for an immediate withdrawal.

“Not only does Russia lack the sincerity and moral determination required to make the United Nations work, but its delinquency should be a clarion call for long overdue Security Council reform,” Peters said.

Earlier this week, Peters announced more sanctions against Russia for its continued aggression against Ukraine. Since March 2022, more than 1700 individuals and entities have been sanctioned under the Russia Sanctions Act.

Winston Peters speaks at the UN General Assembly.

Peters invoked Peter Fraser, the New Zealand Prime Minister during most of World War II, in speaking about how New Zealand has “fought against the veto powers bestowed upon the Great Powers” since the formation of the UN Charter.

“Fraser warned that ‘the veto which can be exercised by one of the Great Powers both in regard to itself and other nations is unfair and indefensible and may, if retained and exercised, be destructive not only of the main purposes of the international organisation, but of the institution itself’.”

Peters said the spirit in which the UN Charter was devised in the immediate aftermath of World War II was “sagging under the weight of its own potted history”.

“Power waxes and wanes so yesterday’s ‘Great Powers’, today’s Permanent Members of the Security Council, are challenged by periods of competition or worse, abuse of the veto.

“This has serious implications for all states and the conduct of our foreign affairs. While some Permanent Members exercise restraint in their use of the veto, others consistently and frequently abuse this power.”

The Foreign Affairs Minister said reform was needed so the Security Council “looks more like today’s world”, where he said there were escalating tensions between a rules-based international order that protects small states and the “unjustified exercise of power by certain Great Powers”.

“Yet small states matter now as much as they did then. New Zealand holds the foundational belief that all states are equal and that our voices matter as much as the more powerful states represented here. It is the quality of our arguments and the principles of justice that inform them, not the size of our militaries, that should hold sway here.”

He said small states want to see the world’s superpowers “talk more, seek better understanding between them, and develop ways of compromising more”.

“Rather than a zero-sum game, effecting better relations between today’s “Great Powers” only enhances global stability, and that is what we smaller nations seek.”

Peters spoke of the “stark” challenges the world faces – including armed conflict, climate change and a crisis of trust in institutions – “the worst the world has faced since World War II”.

“Growing distrust and division is making international cooperation more difficult, placing the United Nations under strain, and hindering the organisation’s ability to find effective solutions.”

He said this required diplomacy and “political leadership”. An example of that Peters gave was former US President Jimmy Carter’s work with Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1978 to develop the Middle East Peace Accords.

“Contrast that leadership with the catastrophic and ruinous path that has been followed in Gaza. This misery was caused by both Hamas’ monstrous terrorist attacks last year and the now overwhelming nature of Israel’s response.

“We are most concerned about the generational consequences of this level of suffering and violence, with no end in sight and which sees us on the precipice of an even wider conflict.”

Peters said New Zealand never again wanted to “experience the catastrophe of another World War”.

“We must reject and resist those who seek to conquer and control. We must always seek the path of peace because the lasting victories of humanity are those of peace, not war.

“Finally, despite our frustration at the lack of political will required to adapt this organisation to fully meet the challenges of today, New Zealand’s support for the United Nations remains unwavering. That commitment is unchanged from when Prime Minister Fraser expressed his great hopes for the Charter eight decades ago.

“We believe effective multilateral diplomacy means taking responsibility for our obligations as member states. So, to that end, we announce today New Zealand’s intention, as a voice for small states, to campaign for a seat on the Security Council for the 2039-40 term.”

New Zealand previously served a two-year term on the council between January 2015 and December 2016 after a decade-long campaign.

Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.