ASSEMBLY ADOPTS REPORT OF WORKING GROUP ON SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM
Press Release
GA/9430
ASSEMBLY ADOPTS REPORT OF WORKING GROUP ON SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM
19980824 The General Assembly this morning adopted the draft report of the Open- ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council. Acting without a vote, it decided that the Working Group's deliberations should continue, and that it should submit another report to the General Assembly by the end of its fifty-third session. Following that action, the President of the General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), said that when Member States had declared that the Security Council should be expanded and its working methods reviewed almost three years ago, the intention had not been to assign permanent status to the Open-ended Working Group. After five years of discussions, if there was still need for anything to be explored, it was States' ability to see beyond national interests, he continued. In deliberations on Council reform, the predominating interest should be to enhance the Organization's relevance to the requirements of a changing world and to ensure that it could more effectively and efficiently meet the challenges of the new century. Germany's representative said it sometimes seemed that the Working Group was aimed at preventing reform of the Council rather than making it happen. If the Council was not made more representative, it would lose both credibility and authority, he warned. The representative of Italy said that while there was convergence of views on the working methods of the Security Council, positions remained far apart with respect to its enlargement. He also cited the existence of differing views on the process by which Council reform would be agreed upon. Statements were also made by the representatives of Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Egypt (also for the non-aligned countries), Syria and Algeria. At the outset of the meeting, it was announced that Chad and Niger had made the necessary payments to reduce their arrears below the amount by which their voting rights in the Assembly would have been suspended under Article 19 of the Charter. The General Assembly will meet again at a date to be announced in the Journal.Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this morning to take up the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters. It had before it the report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council (document A/AC.247/1998/WP.1/Rev.2).
The Working Group's draft report contains a draft decision which would have the Assembly decide that the Working Group should continue its work, taking into account the past five sessions of the Assembly, as well as views to be expressed during its forthcoming session, and submit a report to the Assembly before the end of that session, including any agreed recommendations.
During its current session, the Working Group took up such issues as the working methods of the Security Council and the transparency of its work; decision-making in the Council, including the veto; and expansion of the Security Council. During its discussion of the expansion of the Council, the Working Group considered the total size of an enlarged Security Council; an increase in its permanent membership, including extension of the veto to the new permanent membership and permanent regional representation; and an increase in its non-permanent membership.
Annexed to the report are a series of conference papers, proposals and studies submitted by delegations and groups of States. They cover such issues as the Council's working methods and transparency; its decision-making processes, including the veto; its expansion; review of the enlarged Council; and the majority required for taking decisions on the Council's reform.
A paper submitted by the Bureau summarized proposals which would not necessarily require amendments to the Charter, aimed at curtailing, limiting or discouraging use of the veto. A proposal was made to enable permanent members to cast negative votes without those constituting vetoes. Another proposal would have the permanent members commit themselves, in a legally binding manner, to not resort to the veto or threat of its use beyond actions taken under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, relating threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression.
Another paper submitted by the Bureau detailed outstanding issues related to the expansion of the Council. Among the issues it drew attention to were the following: the ratio between new permanent and non-permanent seats; the number and distribution of new permanent seats; rotational arrangements for new permanent seats; procedures for the designation of new permanent seats; and extension of the veto to the new permanent membership. Regarding categories of the membership to be increased, the paper cited two options: increase of permanent and non-permanent membership, or increase only of non-permanent membership. Regarding the total size of an enlarged Security
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Council, the paper proposed six options. By Option 1, the Council would have 20 members; by Option 2, 21 members; by Option 3, 23 members; by Option 4, 24 members; by Option 5, 25 members; and by Option 6 it would have 26 members.
At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly decided, in its resolution 48/26 of 3 December 1993, to establish an Open-ended Working Group to consider all aspects of the question of increase of the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council. The Working Group began its deliberations in January 1994. The mandate of the Working Group was extended by the Assembly at its forty-eighth to fifty-first sessions. On 15 September 1997, in its decision 51/476, the Assembly decided that the Working Group should continue its work and submit a report to the Assembly before the end of the fifty-second session, including any agreed recommendations.
Statements
The Assembly, acting without a vote, adopted the decision contained in the Working Group's draft report.
GERHARD WALTER HENZE (Germany) said the rationale that had begun the discussion of Council reform five years ago had not changed. Without reform, the United Nations could not cope with the challenges of the next millennium. If the Council was not more representative, it would lose credibility and authority.
The report and the way it had been agreed to were causes for concern, he said. It was "a thin document". Though it included helpful annexes, it lacked analytical elements and a road map for the future. His delegation, and several others, had wanted to add an additional recommendation stating that the General Assembly encouraged the Working Group to come to a meaningful solution by the end of the millennium. However, none of the modest proposals put forward in that regard had been acceptable to all delegations.
It sometimes seemed that the Working Group had turned into a body aimed at preventing the Council's reform, rather than making it happen, he said. A Working Group where some members threatened the assessment of its Co-Vice Chairman with "counter-assessments", and where the silent majority in favour of enlarging both categories preferred not to take the floor because of increasingly bitter procedural in-fights would soon lose its reason for being. It confirmed the negative outside perceptions from which the United Nations suffered, with their well-known damaging effects.
The President's comprehensive reform proposals in last year's report continued to be the only ones on the table, he said. No other proposals had been made to replace them, since March 1997. The discussions this year had made clear what the Working Group could and could not achieve.
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FRANCESCO PAOLO FULCI (Italy) said the discussions in the Working Group had demonstrated that while a convergence of views existed regarding the Security Council's working methods, positions remained far apart with respect to its enlargement. Italy was grateful that the President had corrected the draft report to reflect that proposals remained on the table.
The question of the majority required to take a decision on Council reform was important to Italy, he said. A very large majority of Member States supported the approach that any decision on Security Council reform with Charter amendment implications must be adopted by a two-thirds majority of United Nations Member States, as stated in Article 108 of the United Nations Charter. That was the position that had been expressed by the Non- Aligned Movement at a ministerial meeting in Cartagena. Only a very few delegations maintained that resolutions not containing amendments to the Charter should be adopted by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. It would be unthinkable that the same number of votes would be needed to enlarge the Security Council as would be needed to elect a member of the Economic and Social Council.
He said Italy regretted that one delegation had objected to encouraging the achievement of general agreement on reform of the Council before the end of the millennium. Italy had been ready to approve that. While progress had been made, positions regarding the Council's enlargement remained far apart. It was hoped that general agreement could be reached in the future.
JORGE PEREZ-OTERMIN (Uruguay) said the subject being considered by the Working Group was among the most sensitive and difficult of issues. Uruguay, therefore, wished to express its thanks to the President for having chaired the meetings of such a sensitive Group. The work of the President, and that of the two Vice-Presidents, should be to seek consensus, and Uruguay did not doubt that this was what had been done.
ANTONIO DE AGUIAR PATRIOTA (Brazil) also thanked the President and the Vice-Presidents. Brazil did not believe that there was a need for additional exploratory debate on the matter at hand. The extensive work carried out under five Presidents of the Assembly had already produced a foundation for the beginning of negotiations on a reform package. World opinion was becoming increasingly impatient that the United Nations was shirking the big questions. In a recent article in an English newspaper, blame was being placed on Member States with respect to the anachronistic membership of the Security Council.
A large majority of Member States favored an increase in the membership of the Council, with members from both the developing and industrialized countries, he said. The contours of a shared platform were known. The Council must be expanded to reflect the new world realities, and the Working Group must aim at putting forward concrete proposals. There could be no justification for indefinitely prolonging deliberations. United Nations reform would not be complete without Council reform.
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MANUEL TELLO (Mexico) said his delegation's assessment of what had been achieved over the past year would be expressed at the upcoming General Assembly session. Mexico would continue to participate actively in the activities of the Working Group, aware of the mandate received from the General Assembly to arrive at general agreement enabling it to submit agreed proposals to the Assembly. He associated himself with the statement made by the representative of Italy.
AHMAD KAMAL (Pakistan) associated himself with the statement made by the representative of Italy. His delegation would continue to collaborate with all others in the search for solutions to Security Council reform.
ALEJANDRO GUILLERMO VERDIER (Argentina) said the President's suggestions would be remembered for their objectivity. There was need to reform the Security Council as soon as possible. He called on all States to work towards achievement of a politically viable and legitimate agreement.
AMR M. NOUR (Egypt), speaking also for the Non-Aligned Movement, said the Movement's views had been expressed in many documents. He looked forward to the results of the upcoming Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as to the work of the forthcoming session of the General Assembly on the matter of Council reform.
MIKHAIL WEHBE (Syria) said the Working Group's report was in line with the discussions which had taken place and with the positions previously expressed by the Non-Aligned Movement through the statements made by the non- aligned countries.
AHCENE KERMA (Algeria) associated himself with the statement made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and by the representative of Italy. The forthcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement would be taking up the Working Group's report.
HENNADIY UDOVENKO (Ukraine), President of the General Assembly, said Security Council reform was one of the most difficult issues to be tackled by the United Nations in its history. As Chairman of the Open-ended Working Group, he had closely followed the process. As had been the case in the previous four Assembly sessions, tremendous efforts had been expended to explore different aspects of reform. The Working Group had met a record number of times, with 56 meetings during the current session of the Assembly.
While some progress had been made and new ideas had emerged, the Working Group had not been able to submit substantive recommendations to the General Assembly, beyond that its work should continue during the next session, he said. Stumbling blocks included: opposition to creating new permanent seats, disagreement over the size of an enlarged Council, different approaches to the issue of rotational arrangements for new permanent seats, and differences on the veto right for current and prospective permanent members.
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The failure to yield practical results could result in the outside world perceiving that the reform exercise merely reflected conflicting interests between different groups in pursuit of their own goals, he said. International public opinion could be that one group was striving for sound results within the United Nations, while another group was determined to prevent any such transformation, and a third group appeared to be sparing no efforts to preserve the existing situation.
However, the reform exercise had not been initiated to satisfy such interests, he said. In deliberations on reforming the Council, there should only be one predominating interest: to enhance the relevance of the United Nations to the requirements of a changing world and to ensure that it could more effectively and efficiently meet the challenges of the new century.
Nearly three years ago, Member States had declared that the Security Council should be expanded and its working methods reviewed to strengthen its capacity, enhance its representative character and improve its transparency, he said. While States had required further consideration of relevant issues, the intention had not been to assign permanent status to the Open-ended Working Group.
After five years of discussions, if there was still need for anything to be explored, it was States' ability to see beyond national interests, he said. The current session was concluding its consideration of the matter without sound results. If those who followed were able to reform the Council, the current session's hard work would have paved the way. If future efforts failed, however, the current session would have to accept its share of responsibility.
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