It is our duty to defend international law and peace everywhere and at all times

 

8 October 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

AKEL MP Giorgos Koukoumas spoke yesterday at the 24th Autumn Meeting about the duty of MPs and parliaments around the world to defend international law and peace, even if it means standing up to the world’s powerful. AKEL MP Giorgos Koukoumas addressed this issue yesterday whilst speaking at the 24th Autumn Meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA), which is taking place in Andorra. The AKEL MP and head of the Cypriot delegation to the OSCE PA, addressed the proceedings of the first thematic session, which focused on the role of parliaments in upholding multilateralism and ensuring compliance with shared commitments within the OSCE.

In his address, G. Koukoumas highlighted the crisis facing the post-war global security system due to the intensification of economic, energy and geopolitical rivalries, combined with increasing militarisation across the globe.

He also argued that to restore trust between states, what is required first and foremost is a consistent stand regarding a commitment to the application of international law and the UN Charter, which must serve as the minimum common denominator for all states.

‘It is unacceptable,’ G.Koukoumas continued, ‘for states’ attitude towards international law to depend on whether the violator is an ally or an adversary of the world’s major powers.’ Highlighting the selective sensitivity that prevails internationally, he pointed out that in the case of Ukraine there had been extensive sanctions imposed and large-scale military support provided, whereas in the case of Gaza and, more broadly, Palestine, no corresponding sanctions had been imposed on Israel, nor has it been isolated, whilst some Western governments have not even issued a substantive condemnation. He further emphasised that in the case of Gaza, it is not a war that is unfolding but an ongoing genocide against civilians, which is the crime of all crimes.

The AKEL MP subsequently stressed the importance of defending the institutions of the international community, first and foremost the United Nations, as well as other institutions of international security and criminal justice. The undermining of these institutions becomes extremely dangerous when it comes from the government of the world’s most powerful state, underlined G. Koukoumas, referring to the US threats against the International Criminal Court and the continued attempts to undermine the UN through newly formed bodies, such as the so-called ‘Peace Council’ established by Trump. He also argued that peace, diplomacy and dialogue must always be the first choice over militarisation. ‘Diplomacy cannot be the option we resort to only when military options have failed’, he pointed out.

It must be our first choice. That is precisely the raison d’être of the OSCE: to keep dialogue alive when states are in sharp disagreement,” he noted.

Referring to Cyprus and the Cyprus problem, the AKEL MP emphasised that these principles are not merely theoretical issues for Cyprus. “For more than five decades, our people have been living with the consequences of the ongoing Turkish occupation and division of our country. The Resolutions of the UN Security Council reaffirm the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. We continue to insist on negotiations within the agreed UN framework, for a Bi-zonal, Bi-communal Federation with political equality between the two communities of Cyprus. ‘We are struggling for a solution that ends the occupation and reunites our country for the benefit of all Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, as well as our wider region,” declared the AKEL MP from the podium of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Finally, G. Koukoumas called on the hundreds of parliamentarians from around the world attending the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to defend international law and peace everywhere and at all times, and concluded by stressing that ‘we must demand consistency from our own governments, defend these principles within our societies and place them at the heart of inter-parliamentary cooperation — even when this means standing up to the world’s most powerful’.