On September, 19 expert of our Association Borys Babin took active participation in interview with Ambassador Alan H. Kessel, Proffessor of international law and former Assistant of Deputy Minister Legal Affairs and Legal Adviser to Global Affairs, Government of Canada.
Dr. Alan H. Kessel is professional Canadia diplomate and he represented his state in different countries, in UN Geneva Office and in Assembly of International Criminal Court Statute States Parties.
Interwew was organised by International Law Association of Canada and Professor Kessel was interwied by Dr. Oonagh Fitzgerald, President of that Association, who spent decade on Canadian civil service in different governmental offices. During interwiew Professor Kessel described own rich experince on diplomatic service and stressing the example of case of shooting Ukraine’s civil flight in Iran.
He also described Soviet and Russian provocations in UN system, with special attentions to Russia’s broadscale aggression against Ukraine, stressin own systematic, constructive and franc doctrinal position.
During relevalt discussion Dr. Babin raised an issue of illegal Russia’s presence in UN system, he reminded that when Russian aggression against Ukraine started in 2014 from attempted annexation on Crimea, some academicians’ voices started to propose ban Russia’s participation in UN, especially regarding that fact that Russia de-jure didn’t entered UN when U.S.S.R. collapsed.
Professor Babin added that such position was also declared by Ukraine in UN when Russia’s broad-scale aggression started in 2022, asking Dr. Kessel’s opinion as on issue of further Russia’s participation in UN structures, also as regarding reforming UN system in whole.
In his answer Ambassador Kessel agreed that Russia’s presence in UN system is painful issue especially with modern Russia’s refusal on any constructive negotiations; he added for this issue that “when Russia occuied Crimea we did not do what we had to”, stressing own hope for encreasing next support of Ukraine by all world’s democratic nations.
