Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday railed against the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, arguing they had violated the principles of the U.N. Charter. In his first ever address to the U.N. General Assembly, Gadaffi—in a speech that lasted one hour and 35 minutes—said the preamble of the U.N. Charter asserts that “all nations are equal whether they are small or big.” But he said the real power lay in the hands of the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council—the United States, China, Britain, France, and Russia. “They have enjoyed the veto that was given to them by themselves,” Gaddafi said, adding that the Security Council should only implement decisions of the General Assembly, which includes all 192 U.N. member states. “The General Assembly is the congress of the world,” he said. Gaddafi said 65 wars have broken out since the founding of the United Nations, proof that the Security Council has not maintained international peace and security. “The Security Council has not provided us with security but with terror and sanctions,” he said. Libya is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council, and Gaddafi is expected to participate in Thursday's council meeting on nuclear disarmament to be chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama.
