NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT DECLARATION ELEVATES SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM DISCUSSION TO NEW LEVEL, STATES GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

8 April 1997

Press Release
GA/9232

NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT DECLARATION ELEVATES SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM DISCUSSION TO NEW LEVEL, STATES GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

19970408 Says Declaration Underlines Issues' Complexity; Effort Needed To Redress Imbalance in Present Council

The following statement was issued today by General Assembly President Razali Ismail (Malaysia), commenting on the declaration concerning Security Council reform adopted by the Foreign Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement at the conclusion of their meeting in New Delhi:

The declaration adopted by the Foreign Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement underlines the complexity of the issues involved in Security Council reform, as well as how unrepresentative, imbalanced and undemocratic the present Council is and how much effort must be made to redress the present situation.

The position of the Foreign Ministers does not pose difficulties to discussions on the proposals contained in the paper at the next meeting of the open-ended working group on Security Council reform later this month. In fact, the proposals try to address some of the problems the Foreign Ministers have highlighted, including the need for democratization, non-selectivity in the expansion of Council membership, veto and working methods. Given the points strongly emphasized by the Non-Aligned Movement, much work needs to be done on various aspects of the paper and all countries and groups would be expected to make the necessary adjustments to their basic positions in order to achieve a collective position.

The proposals in the paper were submitted as a text for discussion, not for direct negotiation, and they are not predicated on any imposed time-frame. The paper was meant to elevate the discussion to a new level. The discussion of the paper by the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers has done this. Eventually all Members of the General Assembly will decide.

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Note:In his capacity as Chairman of the open-ended working group on the question of equitable representation on an increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council, Assembly President Razali Ismail presented a paper on Security Council reform to the working group on 20 March 1997 (see Press Release GA/9228 of that date).