GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEARS OF FRUSTRATION AT LACK OF PROGRESS IN THREE-YEAR EFFORT TOWARDS REFORM OF SECURITY COUNCIL

29 October 1996

Press Release
GA/9145

GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEARS OF FRUSTRATION AT LACK OF PROGRESS IN THREE-YEAR EFFORT TOWARDS REFORM OF SECURITY COUNCIL

19961029 Many Options Said to be Under Review; Increased Membership, Use of Veto, Allocation of Permanent Seats at Centre of Debate

Concern over the inability of the General Assembly to develop a package to guide Security Council reform, including means of enlarging the Council, was expressed by many speakers, as the Assembly began its review of the progress of its working group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters.

The representative for Germany said that while the report of the working group included all elements necessary for a reform package, real progress would be possible only through concrete political negotiations of Member States. He called upon Governments to undertake serious negotiations to that end, concurrent with the continued efforts of the working group on Council reform.

After three years of deliberation by the working group, said the representative for Italy, his country's proposal had emerged as one of the main options for guiding Council reform. His Government was heartened by the momentum building behind its proposal to establish 10 new non-permanent seats which would rotate among 30 countries elected by the Assembly. The Italian plan had been gaining support equal to that expressed for creating new permanent seats for Japan and Germany.

The representative for Kenya said that Africa had made a case for at least two permanent seats on the Council. In addition, at least 25 non- permanent seats would be needed to ensure equitable geographic representation on the Council. Eligibility was based purely on countries' population, size, power and wealth would be flawed, since none of those factors was static.

The representative for Brazil said that while the Assembly must keep in mind the risks involved with a failure to act, it must take care not to mistake the need for equitable representation on the Council with forms of expansion which would make it less representative and less equitable. The

informal regional groupings of the United Nations system must not be confused with regional bodies.

Statements were also made this afternoon by the representatives for Ukraine, Austria, Malaysia, Poland, Mexico, Andorra, Argentina, Cuba. The representative for Colombia made statements for his own country, and on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, to continue its discussion of Security Council reform.

General Assembly Plenary - 1a - Press Release GA/9145 44th Meeting (PM) 29 October 1996

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this afternoon to begin consideration of the progress report of its open-ended working group on the question of equitable representation on, and increase in the membership of, the Security Council and other matters (document A/50/47 and Add.1). The group was established in December 1993 to consider all aspects of Council reform. (For background information see Press Release GA/9144, issued today.)

ANATOLI M. ZLENKO (Ukraine) said a revitalized and reformed United Nations would be impossible without a more representative and open Security Council. It was to be regretted that the present permanent members of the Council preferred to "make hints" rather than state clearly their positions. Ukraine therefore requested the Secretariat to prepare a working paper which would reflect the relevant positions of the permanent members of the Security Council on equitable representation, increase in membership and other related issues.

He said the working group must continue to work by consensus; any other method would lead to the most negative consequences for the future of the Organization. The least controversial issue at the moment, he continued, was the number of seats in an expanded Security Council. The working group should have decided to expand the Council to 25-26 members, applying the principle of the lowest common denominator. Also, any expansion of the Council should take into account the interests of the Eastern European Group, which had more than doubled its membership in recent years.

ERNST SUCHARIPA (Austria) told the Assembly that at the foundation of the United Nations, the ratio between the overall membership of the Organization and the Security Council membership was roughly 6:1; after 1965, it became 8:1. The process of decolonization had brought it up to 12:1. He said the increase should be reflected in the Council whose current structure did not reflect the international political and economic changes of recent decades. Lack of representativeness undermined legitimacy, and hence the urgency of reform.

He said Austria believed that with any enlargement, the Council should not have more than 25 members. The concept of permanent and non-permanent members could reflect the prevailing structure of international relations, and safeguard necessary democratic elements to ensure equitable representation. The choice of new permanent members must reflect political and economic realities, and the capacity and willingness of potential candidates to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security, particularly through peace-keeping operations. The principle of equitable geographical representation had to apply.

General Assembly Plenary - 3 - Press Release GA/9145 44th Meeting (PM) 29 October 1996

TONO EITEL (Germany) said the report of the working group included all elements necessary for a Security Council reform package and several reform proposals were on the table. A reform package must now be prepared, based on the existing proposals which were realistic and had gained membership support. Progress would be possible only through concrete political negotiation. Concurrent to the efforts of the working group, Member States must enter into concrete negotiations that would lead to decisions.

He said other areas of United Nations reform must be borne in mind as Security Council reform continued. The financial situation, the Agenda for Peace and other efforts to strengthen the system were equally important. Germany shared the views of other countries that the lack of tangible progress with regard to the reform of the Council adversely affected other aspects of reform.

CELSO L. N. AMORIM (Brazil) said his country shared the sense of disappointment at the Assembly's inability to build on its consensus that the Council should be enlarged to allow for greater participation by countries capable and willing to bear the responsibilities. While keeping in mind the risks involved if there were a failure to act, the Assembly must be even more careful not to mistake the need for equitable representation in an expanded Council with forms of expansion that would make it neither representative or equitable.

While equitable representation had geographic and regional aspects, it also referred to inclusion, he said. While the regional components must be kept in mind, that must not become a pretext for establishing inequities at the outset of reform. Selective application of regional procedures for identifying new permanent members could have such an effect. Care should be taken not to confound the informal regional groupings of the United Nations system with regional bodies.

The idea of limiting the scope and use of the veto had received wide support during working group deliberations, he said. The idea of allowing permanent Council members to cast negative votes without blocking a decision -- as did the non-permanent members -- would discourage resort to the veto, without abridging present rights of permanent members. If the permanent members were granted such a faculty, it would offer new possibilities for self-restraint and give them additional options which they now did not enjoy.

FRANCESCO PAOLO FULCI (Italy) said that during three years of deliberations, the "2 + 3 regional-rotating seats" proposal by which Germany and Japan would obtain new permanent seats, had been dubbed the "quick fix by the back door". The establishment of three permanent seats which would rotate among countries of three regional groups was part of the proposal. However, during discussions it had become clear that it would be difficult if not impossible to select one African, one Asian and one Latin American or

General Assembly Plenary - 4 - Press Release GA/9145 44th Meeting (PM) 29 October 1996

Caribbean country to occupy new permanent seats. Moreover, one of the permanent members had made it clear that it would block any Charter amendment granting the veto to developing countries.

He said his country's proposal to establish 10 new non-permanent seats, frequently rotating among 30 countries to be chosen by the Assembly, remained an option. Italy was heartened by the momentum building behind that proposal. It had received support on par with the support equal to that expressed for the idea of granting permanent seats to Japan and Germany. It was the only formula which reconciled the two major changes international developments since the end of the Second World War, namely the emergence of countries with considerable economic and political capacities, including Italy; and the emergence of developing countries far more numerous and important than in 1965. Also, the Italian proposal would strengthen the role of the General Assembly, since all non-permanent members, both frequently and regularly rotating, would have to be elected by the Assembly.

He noted there was also the "fall-back" position of the Non-Aligned Movement that for the time there should be an increase only in the number of non-permanent seats on the Council. That position, which could count on the support of the more than 100 Member States, was in the same spirit as the Italian proposal, and would represent a first step towards a future solution.

(According to the Italian proposal for Security Council reform, the two categories of permanent and non-permanent members would be kept and the current permanent membership of five would remain. Ten new non-permanent seats would be added, each rotating between three States, so that a total of 30 States would occupy the new non-permanent seats on a rotating basis. Each of them, when occupying the seat on the Council, would serve a two-year term. When replaced by another State, the first State would have four consecutive years off the Council. Thus, the 30 States would rotate more frequently and regularly than others. Selection of the 30 States would be based on objective criteria to be determined by the Assembly. All 30 of them would be subject to periodic elections by the Assembly.)

BIN AGAM HASMY (Malaysia) said that in three years no progress had been made towards reform, but the momentum should be maintained. Malaysia believed that both permanent and non-permanent Council membership should be increased, given the increasingly important role of regionalism in inter-State relations. Malaysia and other countries believed in the concept of permanent regional representation, which implied equitable and balanced geographical representation and should be an alternative to what was essentially "the nineteenth century model of great power politics" that had determined the present structure and composition of the Security Council.

He said Malaysia supported an additional eight permanent seats and an increase of the non-permanent seats, to a total membership of 27 members.

General Assembly Plenary - 5 - Press Release GA/9145 44th Meeting (PM) 29 October 1996

Malaysia had consistently declared that the veto within the Council was undemocratic and anachronistic, and called for its abolition. At least, its application should be rationalized; a single veto should not prohibit the majority from making a decision. Malaysia also subscribed to the position of the Non-Aligned Movement on reforming the working methods of the Council. Also, the seemingly automatic membership of the permanent Council members in other organs of the United Nations should be urgently reviewed.

ZBIGNIEW M. WLOSOWICZ (Poland) said that in spite of progress made at the open-ended working group on Security Council reform, great divergence existed among Member States, with poor prospects for compromise. Poland believed that the ideal size of the Council lay "probably between 21 and 25". While it was favourably disposed to increased representation for other regions, any enlargement of the Council should also result in augmented representation of Eastern Europe, where the number of States had recently more than doubled. Endorsing the "entirely justified aspirations" of Germany and Japan for permanent membership, he said he supported enhanced representation for the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America in both categories of Council membership.

Besides the emphasis on improving the link between the Security Council and the general United Nations membership, discussion should be focused on further developing cooperation in the Council's proceedings and the process of executing its decisions. Similarly, it was necessary to improve cooperation between the Council as the body carrying primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and the regional arrangements as referred to in article 52 of the Charter.

MANUEL TELLO (Mexico) said the report was a faithful reflection of what had taken place in the working group. It was clear that there were still major differences, with few areas of convergence. In paragraph 26, the working group had rejected the "quick fix" of admitting the two developed countries that had requested permanent seats. This was the most discriminatory of all the formulas proposed. The proposal of the Non-Aligned Movement of increasing only the number of non-permanent members, in case there was no consensus on the permanent seats, was widely accepted by almost two-thirds of Member States. The idea of limiting the veto was also widely accepted, except -- and this should come as no surprise -- by the permanent five.

He said a reduced number of countries had frustrated the hopes for authentic reform that had surged at the end of the cold war. That group sought to accentuate the inequalities of some, and widen the privileges of others. In Mexico's opinion, there was no reason to increase the permanent seats on the Council; the permanent five were more than enough. How could the Council have four permanent seats for one same geographical group? he asked. On Security Council reform, he concluded, the time had come to choose between

General Assembly Plenary - 6 - Press Release GA/9145 44th Meeting (PM) 29 October 1996

the impossible and the viable. Mexico favoured the continuation of the working group's efforts.

JULI MINOVES-TRIQUELL (Andorra) said that being one of the newest members of the United Nations imposed a certain modesty when facing a subject of this nature. There had been a very large number of proposals for reforming the Security Council, and many questions stood out. Among them was how large the Council could be without too many members rendering decision-making impossible. He described the veto as a "relic of the Second World War", but noted that it was also a reflection of the balance of power. He said there had been a suggestion that in the choice of non-permanent members to the Council, attention be paid to the military contribution of States to peace- keeping, he added. But States with less military capacity also had their roles to play, small States such as Andorra would have their role in bringing energy and a fresh perspective to the work of the Organization. He urged Member States to keep in view the objective of an effective and active Council.

NJUGUNA M. MAHUGU (Kenya) recalled that earlier this month, his Foreign Minister had called for democracy, transparency and equitable representation in the reform of the Security Council. He recalled the positions presented to the working group by the non-aligned countries and the African Group. He said the working group report covered a lot of ground in several areas. It was clear that the notion of the "quick-fix" had been rejected, and an agreement should be reached that addressed the existing imbalance. The Security Council, as currently constituted had been an arrangement to avoid another war and to achieve a balance of power during the cold war.

It was no longer justified that at least two continents were not represented as permanent members. Africa had made the case for having at least two. The question of expansion of non-permanent membership, to give greater meaning to equitable geographical distribution, must also be addressed. It was important to agree on an overall size of the Council and membership of 25 was the minimum that would lead to an equitable distribution. Members of the Council must act in the collective interest of peace and security, not in their own narrower interests.

While it was imperative that consideration be given to a country's contribution to international peace and security, eligibility based purely on the size, power, population or even wealth of a nation would be flawed since, none of those factors was static. The veto may have had a justification during the cold war but in the new international order it could no longer be justified. He commended the efforts that the Council had initiated to improve its working methods and decision-making process, which had improved transparency and also, ensured legitimacy of its decisions.

General Assembly Plenary - 7 - Press Release GA/9145 44th Meeting (PM) 29 October 1996

FERNANDO PETRELLA (Argentina) said reform of the Security Council was linked to the crisis of the United Nations. That crisis was not strictly a financial one as Member States would in the end pay their contributions, and it did not derive from the antiquated structures of the Organization because those had been undergoing change. It was a crisis of the multilateral spirit, in the sense of collective action established in the League of Nations and then transferred to the United Nations. Today, that spirit could be disappearing.

Many of the deliberations of the Security Council were neither followed nor witnessed by Member States, and this was particularly true of smaller delegations from smaller countries, which made up the vast majority of the United Nations membership. This was what Argentina called the "participatory crisis", which weakened the multilateral system.

What was needed was a more transparent Council; there should be an end to the unnecessary secrecy. The structures of the present Council were the result of wars and not of discussion and consultations. The increase of Council membership did not seem so urgent an issue as others.

BRUNO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said the necessary restructuring of the Security Council meant broadening its membership, applying the principle of geographic distribution, and the introduction of reforms that ensured democracy and transparency. That was the only genuine way to ensure equitable representation, and the effectiveness of the Council.

He said the report of the working group showed that a significant number of Member States did not support the establishment of permanent seats, since these were discriminatory and selective, and would never, as long as they existed, ensure the representation deserved and desired by the developing world. He said Cuba supported the elimination, or at least the progressive restriction, of the privilege of the veto within the Council.

JUAN CAMILO RUIZ (Colombia), speaking on behalf of countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, said those countries attached the utmost importance to the issue of equitable representation on, and increase in the membership of, the Security Council and other matters related to it. Decisions adopted on the issue by their heads of State and Government had been presented to the General Assembly last year. The urgent need to democratize the United Nations to reflect the universal nature of the Organization and fulfil the principle of sovereign equality of States had been stressed, as well as the need for democracy and transparency in the work of the Security Council.

Speaking for his own country, he said Colombia had always opposed the Security Council veto, considering it to be contrary to the principle of sovereign equality of States and to the aim of democratization shared by an outstanding majority of Member States. If the veto could not be eliminated a

General Assembly Plenary - 8 - Press Release GA/9145 44th Meeting (PM) 29 October 1996

limit should be placed on its application. He said the report of the open- ended working group adequately reflected the concerns of a large number of delegations on various issues concerning the Council. It reaffirmed the agreement at the 49th session of the General Assembly regarding the need to expand the membership ensuring equitable geographical distribution, taking into account the substantial increase in the membership of the United Nations, especially of the developing countries.

* *** *