Andrey Denisov has served as First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs since September 2022.

In 1974, he graduated from MGIMO of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He holds a Candidate of Economic Sciences degree. He has held positions as Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1997–2000), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Arab Republic of Egypt (2000–2001), Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations and Representative in the UN Security Council (2004–2006), First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia (2006–2013), and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the People’s Republic of China (2013–2022).

The United Nations General Assembly has elected a new composition of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). What is this body?

I am holding a small blue book. This is the Charter of the United Nations. It was signed 80 years ago, on 26 June 1945. On behalf of our country, it was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Gromyko.

This document sets out in detail the functions of the UN bodies and lists six main ones. The General Assembly is listed first, followed by the Security Council, and then the Economic and Social Council.

Further in the text, in Chapter Ten, its functions, purpose, composition, and formation procedures are outlined. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is a unifying body within the UN system that oversees issues related to the economic, social, and environmental agenda. It is an extremely important body because its scope covers a very wide range of matters.

Almost three dozen specialised agencies, inter-agency bodies, and subsidiary organs within the UN system that relate to the issues I mentioned fall under ECOSOC’s purview. The Economic and Social Council has granted consultative status to more than 6,000 non-governmental organisations, including 70 from the Russian Federation.

What is crucial today in the work of this body is its role in overseeing the implementation, promotion, and realisation of the sustainable development agenda. In 2000, the General Assembly adopted the Millennium Development Goals, which were designed to be achieved by 2015.

Although they were not fully realised, in 2015 the General Assembly recognised their completion and adopted an even broader and more ambitious agenda – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), covering the period until 2030. These 17 goals encompass virtually all aspects of human life: the eradication of hunger, poverty, gender equality, education, culture, the environment, and so on. To elaborate, the 17 SDGs are broken down into 169 targets. This is a fairly ambitious programme that is currently being implemented.

Its implementation is monitored precisely by the UN ECOSOC. It holds review conferences and accepts national reviews of how countries are achieving the development goals. In short, this is the body that addresses the majority of issues on the UN agenda due to the wide range of economic, social, and environmental challenges humanity faces.

This body comprises 54 countries, which are elected for three-year terms. Since its inception 80 years ago, it has doubled in size twice.

Following this summer’s election, the Russian Federation will assume its mandate on 1 January 2026. In your opinion, what will Russia’s membership in ECOSOC bring to the country and the world?

Firstly, by monitoring the implementation of various segments of the UN’s economic and socio-environmental agenda, we gain more opportunities to ensure these processes are balanced. Secondly, we can help bring major issues to consensus. Thirdly, Russia is able to defend and express the interests of UN member states most vulnerable to external factors, which is, of course, positively received by them.

The United Nations is strong because each country, regardless of its size or economic power, has one vote. Many states are vulnerable for various reasons – natural, economic, historical, political, geographical, and others. For example, there is a group of countries requiring special development assistance, and another group – the so-called landlocked countries – have no access to the sea. Some of them are quite prosperous, but others are poor and lack access to transport networks. This is a real challenge. There are also small island developing states that require special attention.

There is also a wide range of topics related to development itself: financing, debt burden, and tax systems in different countries. Russia, with the support of like-minded countries in ECOSOC, can influence the adoption of balanced decisions on all these issues and help formulate effective recommendations. This includes the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thus, when we strengthen our position in the UN’s economic sphere, which will occur from 1 January 2026, we will be able to positively influence the achievement of the goals set before the world by the international community via the UN General Assembly.

This is routine work: various expert meetings, reports, and adopted decisions. Everything related to ECOSOC’s agenda, figuratively speaking, requires funding – but those funds must be found, distributed fairly, and spent efficiently. That is exactly what ECOSOC oversees.

Speaking of economic development, what role does ECOSOC play in this process?

ECOSOC oversees the UN’s regional economic commissions for Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Their main function is to develop recommendations on how to achieve more balanced economic development at the regional level. Countries rely on these recommendations when determining their national priorities. As you can see, there is a direct connection between ECOSOC’s work and national development.

What does China gain from participating in ECOSOC?

Currently, for the 2023–2025 period, China is a member of ECOSOC. It is a highly respected country, particularly in matters of development assistance. It enjoys the support of a broad range of developing nations, to whom it provides practical aid and fosters investment cooperation in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Therefore, its position within ECOSOC is quite solid.

China is an active player on the UN’s economic platform, and this is becoming increasingly evident. Since the mid-2000s, China has consistently held the position of Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs in the UN Secretariat.

As is well known, all permanent members of the UN Security Council hold at least one Under-Secretary-General position. Russia, for example, holds a leadership post in the UN’s European Office in Geneva, while China maintains a position in the economic sphere, which allows it to address resolutions and recommendations coming from ECOSOC through various practical actions of the Secretariat.

China plays a highly active role – and this is a good thing, as our strategic partnership will also be reflected in the ECOSOC agenda. Moreover, it’s not just China – there are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation such as Pakistan and Uzbekistan; BRICS countries including South Africa and Brazil; and CIS states like Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan again. Additionally, we have constructive partnerships with a wide range of Afro-Asian and Latin American countries. So we will have many like-minded partners in ECOSOC, which will certainly make our work – and that of our Chinese partners – easier.

We have a solid background in ECOSOC, and many countries listen to our position, take our opinion into account, and sometimes even follow our lead. Russia has considerable experience and a highly respected school of economic diplomacy – both Soviet and Russian. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and our Permanent Representative to the UN and the Security Council Vasily Nebenzya both come from the field of economic diplomacy. I myself, during many years in the Foreign Ministry’s central office, worked on these matters. And 20 years ago, when I was Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, I also paid considerable attention to economic issues.

Among the UN’s working and principal organs, ECOSOC is capable of setting and addressing very serious challenges.

Please tell us about your copy of the UN Charter. Why is it valuable to you?

It’s like a Bible – a reference book that exists in all languages. Today, as I was sorting through my papers, I found it – it was like divine providence. In my case, it’s not just any copy of the Charter. As you know, the Security Council operates on a rotating presidency. Each member state chairs it for one month, in alphabetical order. As a memento of Russia’s presidency, all my colleagues – representatives of the permanent members – left their autographs in this copy. So for me, it’s a personal keepsake. But I still refer to it quite often, because the UN Charter has stood the test of time. It is a heritage of all humanity.

Therefore, in my view, reforming the UN and amending the Charter must be approached with extreme caution and care. One must first create something before deciding to discard it. Incidentally, our legal scholars and international jurists played an active role in drafting the Charter. So this little book is also a monument – a monument to our founding fathers in the field of international law.

Photo: TV BRICS