ASSEMBLY CONTINUES CONSIDERING QUESTION OF EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION, INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP OF SECURITY COUNCIL
Press Release
GA/8996
ASSEMBLY CONTINUES CONSIDERING QUESTION OF EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION, INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP OF SECURITY COUNCIL
19951114 Divergent views were expressed on the value of moving towards action to reform the Security Council versus the need for further consultation on the matter as the General Assembly continued its discussion of the question of equitable representation on and increase in the Council's membership.The representative of New Zealand said the working group on the matter was now at a stalemate and there were only three options available. The first was to gracefully shut down the debate for 10 to 20 years and get on with reforms which really would make a difference in the way the United Nations functioned. The second was to pursue a simple expansion of the non-permanent membership. The third was to pursue a more complex political solution based on extension of non-permanent seats only, in a manner that would provide a small group of major countries with the possibility of being elected to the Council more often.
The representatives of China, Iran and Mozambique each said that, in view of the persistence of divergent views about how to reform the Council and the importance of achieving consensus, a patient approach was best.
While urging the commencement of negotiations towards real action, the representative of Belgium said the Member States should not delude themselves: any dilution of the Council would likely generate parallel systems over which the General Assembly would not have any control.
The representative of Brazil said the working group had carried out substantive work which need not be repeated. "The moment has thus come for building bridges and working towards an agreement."
Statements were also made by the representatives of Ecuador, Zimbabwe, Iraq, South Africa, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Ghana, Cuba, Cameroon, Venezuela and Sudan. France, United Kingdom, United States and Libya spoke in exercise of their right of reply.
The General Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 15 November, to continue discussion of this item, as well as to take up the questions of cooperation between the United Nations and the Latin American economic system and of cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this afternoon to continue considering the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council.
Statements
LUIS VALENCIA (Ecuador) said the Non-Aligned Movement had already stressed the criteria to be taken into account in reforming the Security Council. They should be considered as a whole and as part of joint action. They encompassed the principles of sovereign equality of States and equitable geographic distribution and the objectives of transparency, democracy and strengthening of responsibility. The Council must more adequately reflect the United Nations membership and new global realities.
He said his country supported the legitimate aspirations of countries such as Brazil, Japan, Germany, as well as of world regions such as Asia and Africa to be represented on the Council as permanent members. Ecuador did not support an extension of the veto power to other Council members as that would increase the possibility of paralysing Council action.
NGONI FRANCIS SENGWE (Zimbabwe) said the imbalances and inequities inherent in the present structures and practises of the Council, including permanent membership and the power of veto, defied logic and ran counter to the very democratic principles and values that the Member States promoted in their domestic political practices. Democratization, transparency and equitable geographical representation should not be elements of dispute at all in the reform process.
It was objectionable that the entire continents of Africa and Latin America were unrepresented and that Asia was underrepresented in the permanent membership of the Council, he said. Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean should each have at least two permanent seats with the same rights and privileges as the present permanent members.
NIZAR HAMDOON (Iraq) said that the Security Council's actions with respect to his country were punishing its citizens. In addition, the resolution on steps for lifting the sanctions was very vague. The sanctions had inflicted great suffering on the Iraqi people by depriving them of medicines and foodstuffs. The Council had come to the aid of a State which had practised genocide. That proved that the Council was currently undergoing a moral crisis. The Council's actions had caused a rift between the executive and legislative branches of the Government of one of its permanent members.
Faced with such a crisis, it was clear that reforms were needed, he said. Reform of the Council's membership must go hand-in-hand with reform of its working methods. The Council's membership must be expanded in accordance
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with the principle of equitable geographic distribution. The reform process must also address the relationship between the Council and other United Nations bodies. It was necessary gradually to phase out the use of the veto, which was anti-democratic. The roles of the Assembly and the International Court of Justice in the field of peace and security must be strengthened. The Council must be made accountable to the Court and the General Assembly. States which were not members of the Council should be allowed to participate in all of its debates. Interested States should also be allowed to attend the meetings of the Council's sanctions committees.
ALEX REYN (Belgium) said differences on how to reform the Security Council would persist for a long time. The Member States could continue to repeat their positions without making any progress towards a solution, or they could begin negotiations towards real action. If they had the will to carry out the reform of the Council -- and he believed they did -- then they would gradually have to change the spirit of their work.
Reform of the Council should not lead to its regression, he said. The Member States should not delude themselves; any dilution of the Council would likely generate parallel systems over which the General Assembly would not have any control.
K.J. JELE (South Africa) said it was common knowledge that the world today was greatly changed from just 10 years ago. Those changes should provide the international community with an opportunity to refashion the United Nations to meet the present challenges. The root causes of underdevelopment, poverty and hunger, lack of democracy, injustice, religious extremism and ignorance must be addressed. The structure and functioning of the Security Council must be reformed to make it more representative, democratic and transparent. Reform and restructuring must be dealt with as a package. The reform process must result in Africa having equitable representation on any enlarged Security Council. Both the number of permanent and non-permanent members should be increased. It should be up to the regions concerned to select who would fill those seats. The concerns of the developing world must be taken into account.
NUGROHO WISNUMURTI (Indonesia) said the power exercised over the decision-making of the Security Council by a handful of States named in 1945 called for a revision. A review of the composition of not only the permanent but also the non-permanent membership of the Council had become imperative as a result of a substantial increase in the membership of the United Nations.
While the principle of equitable geographical representation was a valid basis, a host of other criteria could be deemed essential for the assumption of responsibilities inherent in permanent membership of the Council, he said. Criteria such as States' support for the United Nations as the principal multilateral Organization for peaceful resolution of conflicts, their willingness to assume the onerous responsibilities inherent in permanent
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membership, their standing within the new realities of regional and sub- regional dynamism, their economic power and the size of their population could be considered.
QIN HUASUN (China) said China concurred with the statement that the composition and size of an expanded Council should more accurately reflect the universality and the current situation of the United Nations. In expanding the Council, the principle of equitable geographical distribution should be particularly observed and the representation of various regions in the Council strengthened so as to recognize the positive role the developing countries and small- and medium-sized countries play in United Nations affairs.
Concerning improvement in the working methods of the Council, he said the Council itself should establish the practice of democratic consultation, and members should refrain from imposing their will on others or adopting double standards to conflicts in different regions. The Council should increase the transparency of its work and strengthen its exchange of information and communication with non-Council members.
Since there were still divergent views among Member States on various specific issues, a serious, pragmatic and patient approach to reform was required, he continued. There should continue to be extensive exchange of views and the seeking of common ground.
COLIN KEATING (New Zealand) said the working group was now at a stalemate and there were only three options available. The first was to gracefully shut down the debate for 10 to 20 years and get on with reforms which really would make a difference in the way the United Nations functioned. The second was to pursue a simple expansion of the non-permanent membership. The third was to pursue a more complex political solution based on the expansion of non-permanent seats only, but in a manner that would ensure that a small group of major countries which were interested in regular representation in the Council had at least the possibility of being elected to it more often.
New Zealand strongly believed in the elimination of the veto, he said. But if progress was to be made, every country would have to put aside its optimal position. Today, the discussions in the Council were not "open" in any meaningful way to Members of the United Nations. "Now is not the time for the Council to pull the blanket over its head and keep on doing whatever it does in the dark", he said. Therefore, the need for transparency in the Council could not be overemphasized.
IVAN MAXIMOV (Bulgaria) said that reform of the Council should be guided by a balanced approach to the need for an increase in the membership, and the requirements for the effectiveness of its work. The number of non-permanent members should be increased in a manner that would preserve the ratio of permanent to non-permanent members while at the same time providing for
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proportional representation among the regional groups. States carrying considerable political and economic weight such as Germany and Japan, as well as other influential countries in regional or global terms, should be given permanent status on the Council. An additional non-permanent seat should be allocated to the Eastern European Group, considering that its membership had exactly doubled since the last Council enlargement in 1965, while the overall increase in the Organization's membership in the same period was from 113 to 185.
MAJID TAKHT-RAVANCHI (Iran) said reflection, deliberation, methodical work and above all time were needed to narrow the divergence of views on key issues regarding the reform of the Security Council. Iran appreciated the fact that, in the meantime, the Council had taken some steps to improve its working methods; however, there was plenty of room for further improvement.
The veto power should either be removed or, at least, thoroughly reviewed, he continued. It was incompatible with the objective of democratizing the United Nations. It questioned the very notion and justification of collective security.
CELSO L.N. AMORIM (Brazil) said the working group had carried out substantive activity which need not be repeated. "The moment has thus come for building bridges and working towards an agreement." Reform of the Security Council was urgently needed, but it must not be pursued merely for its own sake. Rather, reform must serve the interests of the entire international community. If the Council was to wield the political and moral authority needed for its decisions to be effectively implemented, its composition must not be perceived as imbalanced either in geographic terms or in terms of participation by industrialized and developing countries. "An increase in the permanent membership of the Security Council limited to industrialized countries would not only aggravate present imbalances in regional terms but would fail to acknowledge the increasing role played by developing countries in promoting international peace and security", he said.
JOHN H.F. CAMPBELL (Ireland) said the Council should be enlarged to increase its effectiveness and its ability to act, both clearly and unambiguously, on behalf of all Member States. Equitable geographic representation must be enhanced, and the possibility of small members serving on the Council should not be diminished. The number of both permanent and non-permanent members should be increased. After two years of discussion, the time had come to begin to clarify the elements of a balanced solution. Clearly, reforms must be advanced, given the dissatisfaction with matters as they stood. The momentum of the fiftieth anniversary should be used to clarify in the months ahead the essential points on which decisions and further measures could be realized.
ALEXANDRE DA CONCEICAO ZANDAMELA (Mozambique) said the assessment by the Vice-Chairmen of the open-ended working group and the submission of various
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proposals by a number of Member States of the Organization underscored the need for further consideration of matters related to reform of the Security Council with a view to harmonizing the compelling interests of Members. While reiterating the validity of the African common position on United Nations reforms adopted in September 1994, Mozambique also wished to concur with the Non-Aligned Movement's position in support of such further in-depth consideration. In general, Mozambique supported a more democratic, more representative and more efficient Council based on the sacrosanct principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members as enshrined in the Charter.
GEORGE O. LAMPTEY (Ghana) reviewed the history of the use of the veto in the Security Council and said that body always seemed to be in closed-door consultations. Ghana did not believe that the creation of more permanent members would solve the fundamental problem of democratization of power. However, it supported an increase in the membership of the Security Council, coupled with permanent seats, to ensure regional balance even if the move was only symbolic.
The increase in the membership of the Council should be the first point in a two-prong reform, he said. The second, and the more crucial point, was to provide that the exercise of veto power could be overridden by votes of a set number of the members of the Security Council.
BRUNO RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) said the Council should be restructured in accordance with current realities, which also called for the revitalization of the General Assembly and, above all, a re-establishment of proper links between those two bodies. The Assembly, as a universal body, had the right to be informed about the Council's activities. Any modification of the number of Council members must strictly implement the principle of equitable geographic representation in all categories. In considering an increase in the number of permanent members, the developing countries must be taken into account. Otherwise, there would be a greater imbalance in the Council's membership.
He went on to say that one of the possible variants would be to have a 23-member Council, with new permanent members to be distributed as follows: three seats for Asia, two seats for Africa, two for Latin America and the Caribbean, and one for European and other States. Cuba would examine all proposals on the matter. In addition, the working methods of the Council must be improved. "A non-democratic, non-transparent Security Council is not, nor can ever be, an efficient Security Council." Reform of the Security Council need not be effected through an amendment to the Charter; amending the Council's own rules of procedure should suffice.
JEAN KOE NTONGA (Cameroon) said that while the Security Council had grown from 11 to 15 members since 1945, the number of Member States had grown from 51 to 185. Therefore, it made sense to increase the number of Council members so that the body would be more representative of the international community. To be equitable, the Council membership must reflect the principle
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of the equal sovereignty of the Member States as well as equitable geographical representation. In that context, Cameroon reaffirmed that Africa should be represented by two additional seats in the two categories of Council membership.
In addition, he said, reform should also include increasing the transparency of the working methods of the membership as well as the improvement of its relations with the other United Nations organs, particularly the General Assembly. The relevant proposals of the African Group and the non-aligned countries deserved particular attention.
ENRIQUE TEJERA-PARIS (Venezuela) said he fully supported the expansion of the number of permanent and non-permanent Security Council members to reflect the increase in the number of United Nations members, to correct imbalances between regional groups, and to make the Council more representative of the General Assembly. Venezuela also supported Brazil as a potential candidate for a Council seat.
He said his Government might lend its backing to the proposal presented by Italy -- or another similar approach that might be developed -- to establish a more frequent rotation of non-permanent Council members and another additional rotation to guarantee participation in the Council by countries that had not yet had that opportunity. Regarding the veto, he reaffirmed the position Venezuela had held since 1945: either eliminate it or limit it.
ALI MOHAMED OSMAN YASSIN (Sudan) said it was necessary to expand the Council's membership, given the increase in the overall number of Member States as well as changes in international relations. Particular attention must be paid to the concerns of developing countries, which currently did not have adequate representation. Under the present structure, numerous countries were repeatedly re-elected, thus excluding many others. The attempt by some countries to influence the Security Council through their veto privilege must be examined.
Reforms must be carried out in the interests of all countries, with full consideration for the concerns of developing nations, he said. The principles which must guide reform included the sovereign equality of all States and equitable geographical representation. Perhaps the Council should convene a formal meeting involving all States before making major decisions. It would be useful to strengthen the relationship between the Council and the Assembly.
Right of Reply
JEAN-MICHEL GAUSSOT (France), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said Libya's statement in the morning implied that France was behaving as a colonial power. His delegation strongly repudiated the use of such a
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description with regard to the situation of departments and territories of France that were governed by democratic procedures.
SIMON MANLEY (United Kingdom) said comments made in the morning by Libya represented an anachronistic view of the United Kingdom's dependant territories, a view his delegation did not accept. Libya was well aware of what it must do to lift the sanctions imposed upon it.
DOUGLAS KEEN (United States) expressed full support for the statements of France and the United Kingdom. Libya's comments were but the latest episode in its campaign to detract attention from its obligations under various Council resolutions. Those obligations were clear and remained unchanged. It would be a waste of time to refute all of Libya's assertions.
He said the facts on record regarding the status of Guam and the United States Virgin Islands spoke for themselves. Libya was attempting to divert attention from its record on terrorism and its behaviour with respect to binding Security Council resolutions. The sooner Libya would take steps to meet its obligations, the better.
MOHAMED A. AZWAI (Libya) said that in his statement this morning, he had referred to the question of the veto power and Libya's criticism of it, which had long been on record. He had stated that certain Powers enjoyed the veto power while still occupying territories. He referred those opposing his remarks to the work of the Assembly's Fourth Committee and to document A/50/23, which contained all information needed in that regard.
Concerning the allegations that Libya was trying to detract attention from its record on terrorism, he said that all countries knew full well the real reason which had put Libya at the Council's mercy. Were it not for tyranny and the arrogance of power, the Lockerbie problem would not have been referred to at the United Nations. Many planes had been exploded, sometimes by States and responsible known authorities, yet those problems had never been discussed at the United Nations. The courts had had no say on the Lockerbie incident. The people of Libya had suffered from colonialism, displacement, killings and humiliation. They had paid a high price for freedom and no one would subjugate them. The Lockerbie problem could easily be solved through a fair trial. Libya had no objection to sending the suspects to be tried by Scottish judges or at the seat of the International Court of Justice or to a third, neutral place where justice could be served.
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