In addressing the 80th session of the UN general assembly (UNGA) 2025 in New York yesterday, Malaysian foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said there was a need to limit, if not abolish, the veto power, Bernama reported.
“We must challenge it each and every time that it is wielded, particularly in cases of crimes against humanity.
“Authority must flow back to the general assembly. As the most inclusive body of this house, it should be allowed to serve as the conscience and voice of the world, unimpeded,” he was quoted as saying.
Mohamad urged the organisation to continue to demand accountability from the permanent members of the UN Security Council, referring to the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.
“We must pursue results through Resolution 377A: Uniting for Peace. No more shall we quietly accept the dismissal of our collective voice.
“We must question and challenge the veto. We must free the UN Security Council from this humiliating paralysis,” he said.
He added that the UN must remain a relevant and effective international organisation and a global guardian of peace.
On the issue of Israel and its recent actions, Mohamad called for the UN to impose sanctions on Israel, stressing that the metastasis of Zionist regime brutality in the Middle East must not be allowed to continue.
He said Israel’s latest assault on Doha, Qatar, was not merely an attack on a few Hamas representatives but a violation of another state’s sovereignty and an insult to all mediation efforts.
Mohamad added that the strike signalled that Israel’s violence would continue to destabilise the region.
“The atrocities may have begun with Palestine, but they certainly will not end with Palestine. As the Middle East grows ever more dangerous for its residents, we will feel the reverberations all over the world.
“This is why simply advocating for a two-state solution is not enough,” he said, according to Bernama.
He also reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to support the Palestinian people through any measure, including the New York Declaration.
Mohamad said concrete action must also be taken against the occupying force, while long-term support should be prepared to ensure the development of a self-governing Palestinian state.
“The test that we now face is an existential one. After 80 years of the UN, and 77 years of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, if we cannot resolve this, the citizens of the world will lose faith in us and in the international order,” he said.