SECURITY COUNCIL EFFORTS AT TRANSPARENCY WELCOMED IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE
Press Release
GA/9015
SECURITY COUNCIL EFFORTS AT TRANSPARENCY WELCOMED IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE
19951129 The Security Council's efforts to render its work more transparent were welcomed this morning during debate on the Council's report to the General Assembly, but many of the 17 speakers urged that informal mechanisms designed to enhance openness be institutionalized.Speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, the representative of Colombia welcomed the informal information meetings carried out by the Presidency on the current work of the Council and expressed the hope that such meetings would be a regular feature, rather than left to the monthly President to decide.
"The Security Council must not become a body whose decisions, which affect all of us, are adopted behind closed doors under almost clandestine conditions", said the representative of Mexico. He called for a formalization of the mechanism for consultations between the Council and troop-contributing States, emphasizing that those countries were placing their young soldiers at risk and were, thus, very interested in decisions which could affect them.
The representative of Belgium joined in calling for greater consultation with troop-contributing countries, stating that the experience of the contributors could help the Council to formulate mandates and to adapt them to evolving situations. The representative of New Zealand proposed the convening of a formal Council meeting, open to all, to specifically examine the issue of consultations between the Council and troop-contributing countries.
The representative of Republic of Korea said it was disappointing that the report did not include any description of informal consultations and proposed that consideration be given to making a summary of the record of the informal consultations available to the general membership. The representative of Egypt agreed on the need for the Council to provide the Assembly with information on the informal consultations it held, and also proposed that the Council report periodically to the Assembly on the latter's potential role in strengthening the mandates of peace-keeping operations.
Also taking part in the debate were the representatives of Libya, Canada, Nigeria, Belarus, Iraq, Czech Republic, Argentina, Cuba, Botswana, Italy and Zimbabwe.
The General Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. today to take up the question of Palestine.
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Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this morning to continue its consideration of the report of the Security Council to the Assembly for the period 16 June 1994 to 15 June 1995 (document A/50/2). In four parts, the report deals with specific questions considered by the Council, such as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, administrative matters and working methods, the work of the Military Staff Committee, and Communications on matter brought to the Council's attention but not formally discussed. The report also discusses the work of several subsidiary bodies of the Council.
PARK SOO GIL (Republic of Korea) said the review of the report of the Security Council should serve as an opportunity for a collective assessment of the Council's achievements, as well as a moment for reflection on its shortcomings. An overwhelming majority of members, including his own country, wanted the report to be a more analytical and substantive account of activities undertaken by the Council, rather than a compilation of resolutions, statements and various communications.
It was disappointing that the report did not include any description of informal consultations, he said. Consultations with troop contributing- countries ought to be intensified and a more effective post-consultation briefing system should be devised. Also, consideration should be given to providing a summary of the record of the informal consultations to the general membership under certain conditions.
PABLO MACEDO (Mexico) said the Council should place greater importance on public debate. "The Security Council must not become a body whose decisions, which affect all of us, are adopted behind closed doors under almost clandestine conditions." Last year, the number of closed meetings had increased over the previous year. He hoped that unfortunate trend would be reversed and the Council would hold more frequent public debates. Greater participation by all Member States in the work of the Council would strengthen the effectiveness of its decisions. Open sessions on the Secretary-General's report on An Agenda for Peace had been very useful in clarifying the international evaluation of that document.
He welcomed the efforts being made to increase transparency regarding the work of the Council's sanctions committees. Improved cooperation in that area would enhance the Council's work as a whole. The mechanism for consultations between the Council and troop-contributing States must be improved, as those countries were placing their young soldiers at risk and were thus very interested in decisions which could affect them. "Now the time has come to formalize this mechanism and give it an institutional nature", he said. "That would contribute to the transparency and openness which we all desire."
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ALI SUNNI MUNTASSER (Libya) said the report of the Security Council came at a time when Council had embarked on making itself more transparent. However, past comments on the annual report of the Security Council had not been taken into consideration. Other than the brief accounts of the work of the sanctions committees, the report was merely a statistical narrative of the activities of the Council. Furthermore, it seemed the Council had not taken into account the suggestion that more formal meetings be held, as opposed to informal meetings.
The Council's actions in the last few years could only be described as very unusual, he said. The Council contradicted the Charter when it authorized one of its members to act on its behalf in highly serious matters, such as military intervention. The Council had also applied double standards. It had not acted when Israel had shot down a Libyan airliner in 1973 and had taken the same position when the United States downed an Iranian aircraft in 1988. However, it acted in a completely different way concerning the American Pan Am flight that crashed in 1988.
The League of Arab States had submitted a proposal for solving what had come to be known as the "Lockerbie problem", he continued. That proposal involved a trial before a Scottish court of the two suspects in the bombing. However, the Council had not accepted the proposal, as the Council had fallen under the control of one permanent member. The intention of that one member was to keep the Libyan people suffering under sanctions for the longest possible time. Libya believed that the working methods of the sanctions committees should be reconsidered and the countries concerned should have the opportunity to attend the meetings of those committees.
DAVID KARSGAARD (Canada) said that there was no doubt that the Security Council found itself in a period of transition, conscious of the limitations of its actions. Those limitations were compounded by the financial crisis, which was having a great impact on peace-keeping operations. The arrears to peace-keeping amounted to some $2 billion, prompting the Secretary-General to suspend reimbursements to troop-contributing countries. Efforts must be made to resume reimbursements to those countries. The crisis was serious. "Peace- keeping is a complex undertaking that presents challenges serious enough for the United Nations without the additional grave problem of financing." He called on Member States to make their peace-keeping contributions in full and on time.
IBRAHIM A. GAMBARI (Nigeria) said his delegation associated itself with the statement of the representative of Oman in his capacity as the President of the Security Council. As a troop-contributing country, Nigeria believed that consultations between troop contributors and the Security Council were necessary for the full discharge of the Charter obligations. The report itself should contain more analysis. For example, it would be useful to know if a particular decision had helped to move the problem in question towards
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resolution. Also, the impression must not be created by certain members of the Security Council that conflicts in certain parts of the world were more important than others.
ALEX REYN (Belgium) said transparency had improved in recent years, and praiseworthy efforts had been made towards increasing the access of non- members of the Council to its work, through such measures as the publication of the Council's agenda. Additional efforts must be made to improve the transparency of the work of the sanctions committees. For example, the Council had recently suspended the sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), but no information on the implications of that decision had been transmitted to Member States.
He said that consultations with troop-contributing countries were essential, as those countries had the right to make their views known during consideration of a peace-keeping operation. The experience of the contributors could help the Council to formulate mandates and to adapt them to evolving situations. Measures to improve transparency should be improved and, if possible, should be formalized.
ALYAKSANDR SYCHOU (Belarus) said the desire of the Security Council to act independently was considered threatening by many States. Timely information to non-members of the activities and discussions of the Security Council to that end, could not be overemphasized. Before questions were discussed in the Security Council, material on those question ought to be circulated to non-members. Transparency had to be enhanced. Public opinion judged the United Nations on the basis of major actions undertaken by the Security Council. Therefore, timeliness and access to information were very important. The provision of such information for Belarus was not a technical, but a political matter. Moreover, the present report of Security Council lacked analysis. It was a statement of what had been done and was known.
NABIL ELARABY (Egypt) said that under the Charter, the Council was obligated to submit complete reports to the General Assembly on the matters before it. The report should not merely inform the Assembly of the dates on which decisions had been taken. Rather, it was essential to provide an analysis of ongoing conflicts and how they were to be dealt with. The report could also specify the potential contribution of the Assembly to addressing such matters. The report that had been presented was a collection of information on formal meetings, but it contained no information on why decisions had been taken, the work of the sanctions committees, or the role of the General Assembly. Certainly, the Council had primary responsibility in the area of peace and security, but it did not have an exclusive prerogative in that regard. "The General Assembly also has a voice in the maintenance of peace and security."
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Reviewing the history of the Council's actions, he said it had been the Assembly that had originated the concept of peace-keeping. Transparency was critical to establishing a healthy relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly. The Council should submit more frequent and more analytical reports to the Assembly and the Assembly must be given the opportunity to respond to the Council's reports. The Council should provide the Assembly with information on the informal consultations it held. Further, the Council should provide periodic reports on peace-keeping operations, along with recommendations on what the Assembly could do to strengthen their mandates. The possibility of establishing joint mechanisms between the two organs should be explored.
NIZAR HAMDOON (Iraq) said the report of the Security Council did not cover substantive issues. It did not give an account of the logic of the decisions of the Council and did not touch on its informal consultations and the sources of the information that it used in reaching decisions. The Council had been allowed to trespass on some of the responsibilities of the Assembly, particularly in regard to the maintenance of peace and security. The Council had also questioned the ability of Members States to manage their internal affairs and such actions had reflected negatively on the Council's reputation.
A Council statement had declared some time ago that a sanctions regime had to be subject to periodic review and its purpose was not to punish, but to modify behaviour. However, that statement had not been implemented by the Council. In fact, the sanctions on Iraq had been used as a collective tool to punish its people. Moreover, the Council report had overlooked the work of many of its subsidiary organs, including the work of the sanctions committees. It was important that countries affected by sanctions be allowed to attend the meetings of those committees. It had been Iraq's experience that some members on such committees had objected to even pencils, books and bags for children in Iraq.
ANTONIO GUERRA (Colombia), speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that unfortunately the Council's report continued to be a description and a collection of information, without providing an analysis of the matters before the Council. The relations between the Council and the Assembly should be based on an open and constant dialogue. The increase in the number of formal meetings held by the Council, as well as the increased participation by non-members, were welcome. However, major participation by non-member countries was still necessary before the formal adoption of decisions. "The official public sessions should not be used merely to formalize the decisions that have already been agreed behind closed doors."
He welcomed the informal information meetings carried out by the Presidency on the current work of the Council. He hoped that such meetings would be a regular feature and would not be left to the monthly President to
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decide. The heads of State or government of the Non-Aligned Movement at their October summit in Cartegena had underlined the need for democracy and transparency of the Council's work. In view of the increasing trend on the part of some countries to exercise undue influence over the Council and the privileged and dominant role that the veto right ensured for the permanent members, the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement had committed themselves to actively promote curtailment of the veto, with a view to its elimination.
KAREL KOVANDA (Czech Republic) called for the simplification of the reports of the Security Council. He stressed the need for a comparative format and said that quantitative analysis in the report would be a welcome addition. However, it would be unfair to expect qualitative analysis from the Secretariat, since the Secretariat was a neutral body and a qualitative analysis by its very nature was political.
He suggested that the Council should begin thinking about the content of its report well in advance. It was interesting that the Council spent 20 per cent more time discussing 20 per cent fewer issues. Also, there had been an increase in informal consultations, which was something the Organization's founders had not considered. They had not anticipated that the deliberations of the Security Council would be so totally screened from United Nations Member States. Therefore, it was essential that Members States more diligently probe the workings of the Security Council.
PETER RIDER (New Zealand) said one area in which there was room for improvement was the ability of non-members of the Council to have an input into its consideration of issues of interest to them. France's proposal to hold orientation meetings was excellent. The aim was to allow non-member countries to express their views publicly in advance of the Council's private consultations. "But, like so many good ideas, the practice has fallen short of the principle." The Council should live up to its promises on that matter.
Another area where expectations had not been met was that of consultations between the Council and troop contributors, he said. Following an initiative on that matter put forth by New Zealand and Argentina, the Council had issued a statement setting out the agreed arrangements for improved consultations. While some Council members were to be commended for their efforts to make the new arrangements work, for the most part, the meetings were treated as briefings for non-members.
"The process is consultative in name only", he continued. The time had come to pursue enhanced arrangements in open dialogue with troop contributors. He proposed the convening of a formal Council meeting, open to all, to specifically examine the issue of consultations between the Council and troop- contributing countries. In addition, the Council could establish a working group involving its members and troop contributors for initial discussions of the issue.
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ESTANISLAO ZAWELS (Argentina) said the period covered by the report had witnessed several noteworthy events, such as the withdrawal of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM), the resumption of conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the genocide in Rwanda, the developments in Angola and Mozambique and the return of democracy in Haiti. However, it was important to draw a distinction between the maintenance of peace and the use of force. The Security Council had an important role in setting limits on the use of force in the maintenance of peace.
Economic sanctions had become an instrument used increasingly by the international community, he said. The establishment and pursuance of sanctions must be done carefully, since the impact was felt by the civilian population and neighbouring states of the country on which sanctions were imposed. Also, a consultative mechanism between the Council and troop- contributors was important. Greater use of formal consultations was necessary and information ought to be provided on informal consultations.
BRUNO RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) said the Council's report bore the mark of a brief summary, making it difficult for Member States to assess the Council's activities and to determine whether or not the Council had made appropriate use of its powers. At a time when reform was being carried out throughout the Organization, transparency regarding the Council's work was essential. The Council continued to guard its right to determine when a situation was or was not a threat to international peace and security. Most countries only became aware of the Council's decisions after they had been adopted. The Council decided when to impose sanctions and countries rarely had adequate opportunity to discuss the implications of those decisions.
The report did not contain a single word on the real discussions that took place in consultations on the crucial issues of international peace and security, he said. While the practice of briefings by the Council President was laudable, they often failed to provide the in-depth information that was required. The report should include not only references to official documents before the Council, but also information on the frequent oral reports made by high-level officials to the Council. "We will only find solutions, and not palliatives as we have found to date, when we discuss reform of the Security Council." Only when the United Nations had an open and democratic Security Council would it be able to meet the challenges of the future.
LEGWAILA J.M.J. LEGWAILA (Botswana) said new measures had been taken to improve the Council's work methods in response to the general perception that the Council had become an exclusive club. "But are the improvements enough?" he asked. "I believe the answer to this question would be a resonating no!" Presidential briefings to non-members of the Council, while an improvement in the flow of information, did not seem to have attracted much attention. During Botswana's Presidency of the Council in February, it had held briefings every afternoon. However, attendance was generally not encouraging, to say
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the least. None the less, the consultative machinery should be further developed.
Many formal meetings of the Council had in reality become gatherings for the explanation of vote by its members, he said. They were not general debates in which non-members could actively participate. Therefore, it was no surprise that attendance at formal meetings had also dropped. There was a general feeling that the meetings of the Council had become mere formalities for what would have been agreed behind closed doors. On the other hand, meetings with troop-contributors were well attended. "It is time the openness and transparency displayed in the meetings of the troop-contributors permeate all the functions and operations of the Security Council and make it become the increasingly democratic organ of the United Nations that it should have been in the first place."
FRANCESCO PAOLO FULCI (Italy) welcomed the report of the Security Council, adding that in the future it should perhaps include information on the Council's almost daily consultations on crisis situations, regional tensions, humanitarian emergencies and other issues crucial to peace and security. The Council could work more closely and effectively with the General Assembly only in an environment of full transparency.
Consultations with troop-contributing countries should be held before the Council began deliberations on items affecting them, he said. During the month when Italy had been President of the Council, it had sought to follow that practice. It was also worth recalling France's initiative to hold orientation meetings as a means of fostering greater interaction between the Council and the Organization's general membership. Transparency was critical in a world where there was a growing affirmation of the principles of democracy and respect for individual and collective rights.
NGONI FRANCIS SENGWE (Zimbabwe) said his delegation associated itself with the statement by the representative of Colombia on behalf of the Non- Aligned countries. The report of the Security Council to the General Assembly had been reduced to a sterile compendium of letters and documents that had come before the Council in the preceding year and an opaque listing of decisions that it had taken without intimating in any way what really transpired. Therefore, it was imperative for the Council to introduce new measures and practices to improve its working methods, as well as to enhance its relationship with the general membership.
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