PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF ITALY

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF ITALY

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini told correspondents that, although the priority of the current General Assembly must be reform of the United Nations, the issue of enlargement of the Security Council must be addressed. Italy believed that the Council should be enlarged by the addition of non-permanent members, and this potentially divisive issue must be carefully considered by Member States.

In a brief statement, Mr. Dini said there were three key issues around which discussions should revolve at the United Nations: the reform package presented by the Secretary-General, work on a new scale for assessing contributions to the United Nations, and enlargement of the Security Council.

Mr. Dini stressed that the Secretary-General's reform package should be considered independently of the other two issues. Reform of the Organization was long overdue -- it was at the summit of the Group of Seven in Halifax more than two years ago that the heads of government signalled a need to scale down the bureaucracies of the United Nations and its agencies.

He said it was reasonable to take a new look at the scale of assessments; the world had changed, and there had been rapid growth in the economies of many countries. It would seem appropriate that there should be an adjustment in contributions. Hopefully the three issues, dealt with in parallel, could be brought to a conclusion during the next 12 months.

Another matter of interest for Italy, he said, was the creation of a permanent international criminal court. Italy had been in the forefront, advocating the creation of such a tribunal to prosecute genocide and crimes against humanity, and was prepared to host a conference that would lay down the statutes of the court. He hoped that consensus could also be reached on this matter.

A correspondent asked what were the realistic expectations for advancement on the issue of the Security Council. The Foreign Minister said two years ago Italy had presented a proposal for reform of the Security Council, calling for enlargement through an increase in the number of non- permanent members, with more frequent rotations for the larger countries, rather than creating new permanent seats. That proposal was still on the table, although there were other proposals, including the one put forward by Bill Richardson, Permanent Representative of the United States. The Richardson proposal had created ripples, and was being debated, but it did not seem to command sufficient support for action.

It was important, he said, to define the criteria that would guide the composition of the Security Council before naming the countries that should be

a part of it. That might take some time, and could be assigned to the working group of the General Assembly. Serious consideration of the issue was vital, otherwise, it could "be extremely divisive and damaging for the United Nations as an organization". Work should begin immediately so that an agreement could be reached in the next 12 months. It was necessary also to think about the efficiency of the Council. Clearly no one was thinking about doubling the size of the Council; it would become unruly, and it would be difficult to form majorities. It should be limited to perhaps 20, and a maximum of 25 members.

Referring to the Foreign Minister's call for a "broad consensus" on the issue, a correspondent asked whether a two-thirds majority would not be sufficient. Mr. Dini said two-thirds majority was a broad consensus, and would be essential on an issue such as this. It would be a great mistake to try to force procedural tricks to skirt the question of a majority -- trying to push it through with a simple majority, for example. That would be divisive and would create tensions among members.

What was the Italian relationship with Germany on enlargement of the Security Council? a correspondent asked. "All smiles", said Mr. Dini, although the two countries were in different camps on the issue, and had different perceptions on whether the Security Council should be only a club made up of major countries, or whether it should be a body on which more countries could serve on a rotating basis. Italy believed that its idea responded better to the realities of the day. The Security Council should not continue as an elitist group of countries that command the entire Organization. The Italian proposal called for new non-permanent members to be elected democratically. Germany and Japan were pushing on the basis of their size and weight to become permanent members. Italy was not pushing to become a permanent member, but wanted to make the Council more democratic, with more frequent rotation for a larger number of countries.

A correspondent asked whether it was disagreement on this issue that had prompted Mr. Dini to cancel talks with his counterpart from Germany. Mr. Dini said that he had not cancelled a meeting, on the contrary, they had already had at least five meetings. Dialogue continued, and Italy recognized Germany's aspirations. Germany must also recognize Italy's position. Particularly, Italy could not accept a formula that would relegate it to the fourth category of countries, as that was not in line with Italy's role in the world today.

[In his speech before the General Assembly later this morning, Mr. Dini said such a formula would categorize first-class countries as the five permanent members of the Security Council, with veto power; second-class countries as new permanent members from industrialized nations, without veto; third-class as "pseudo-permanent" rotating members without veto, from developing nations in different regions; and fourth-class, the majority of Member States, with little chance of serving on the Council.]

Italy Press Conference - 3 - 25 September 1997

Asked if he would like to see Japan, Germany and Italy serving as semi-permanent members, Mr. Dini replied, "together with another 10 countries, or more". Also, Italy did not have anything against Japan. Clearly a greater involvement of Japan in world affairs, particularly in the United Nations, would be welcome. Since the war, Japan had never participated in peacekeeping missions, and perhaps Japan's desire to be on the Security Council was to make more of a contribution to the Organization, aside from the matter of prestige. Participation in the Council should be for countries that intend to play a more direct role in peacekeeping and security activities of the United Nations, not for prestige.

Asked how much support he thought there was for Italy's position, he said more countries would be prepared to accept an enlargement with non- permanent members and more frequent rotation than would support more permanent members. Italy's proposal would give more countries a chance to serve on the Council.

A correspondent asked whether Italy, a close ally of the United States, had been surprised by its proposal. Had there been discussions with the Secretary of State of the United States, Madeleine Albright, on the issue, and how would it affect the United States-Italian relationship? Mr. Dini said that Italy was surprised that the United States would back the proposal for an increase in permanent members, including Japan, Germany, and one country each for the other three main continents. He had discussed the issue with both Mr. Richardson and with the Secretary of State, and had indicated that it was a bad idea. It lacked a logical formula, "just picking one country here, one country there".

As a by-product of the proposal, he said, Italy would be relegated to the fourth category of countries in the United Nations. "We don't think that Italy deserves such treatment, being the fifth largest contributor to the United Nations budget next year, the fifth largest industrial nation, and the eleventh country in terms of size of population." The feelings of Italy on the proposal were shared by other countries of similar size. Italy would speak against the proposal, looking for a solution that would be less divisive.

A correspondent asked whether Mr. Dini sensed a consensus in favour of the reforms of the United Nations that were proposed by the Secretary-General; and whether the European Union had a candidate for the post of Deputy Secretary-General. Mr. Dini said he did sense a growing consensus, although he doubted the reform package would be accepted without change. He was not aware of a Union's position on the question of a Deputy Secretary-General. All continents should have a chance to put forward someone for the position, but it would be better to decide first whether such a position were even necessary.

Italy Press Conference - 4 - 25 September 1997

On a regional issue, a correspondent asked Mr. Dini about his meeting with the Prime Minister of Albania, regarding the status of Kosovo, and asked him to elaborate on the statement issued yesterday by the Contact Group. He said he was encouraged by the stance that the Prime Minister of Albania had taken regarding relations with neighbouring countries. Although Kosovo was the region with the largest majority of Albanian people, the aim seemed to gradually obtain a higher degree of autonomy in the region. The communiqué issued yesterday by the Contact Group went in that direction. While it rejected the imminent creation of an independent Kosovo, it strongly encouraged a greater degree of autonomy for the people. Asked whether the autonomy envisaged for Kosovo would equal the status of Montenegro and Serbia, Mr. Dini said it was too early to say. Asked whether Italy would get more involved, he said Italy wanted to see stability in the area, and he hoped the Dayton Agreement would progress.

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