Broad Calls to Reform UN Security Council
The UN General Assembly discussed necessity for
reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC) On November 16, at its
annual
debate on how to reform the 15-nation Security Council, (UNSC),
the UN
General Assembly heard speakers from many countries reiterate
calls to
make the UNSC more representative, transparent and
accountable in order to address the most serious threats to
international peace and security.
Based on arrangements to keep the peace coming out of World War II, the UNSC is comprised of five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, all of which wield veto power; and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. More than 50 Member States have never been Members of the Security Council, the UN website informs.
UNSC reform has been on the Assembly's agenda for 44 years and this year's debate comes at a crucial time when the UNSC has been unable to stay the hand of Israel, and its backer the U.S., nor hold them to account for the abhorrent crimes being committed against the Palestinians since October 7, as the people's of the world are demanding. "Never before has this issue been more pressing, both contextually and practically," said Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago), President of the Assembly, in his opening remarks.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, speaking for the L.69 group of developing countries from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, said overrepresentation of Western countries in the Council does not reflect the geopolitical diversity of the United Nations nor the geopolitical realities of the 21st century. "That it is no longer fit for purpose is now a stark reality," she said, adding that reform is not only urgent but a precondition to international peace, stability and security.
Sierra Leone, speaking for the African Group, observed that "Africa remains the only major continent without representation in the permanent category of the Security Council, and under-represented in the non-permanent category." Africa's demand for two permanent seats is a matter of common justice, he stressed.
Bahrain, speaking for the Arab Group, pointed to the recent violence in Gaza and urged Member States to ensure conflict prevention becomes more representative, transparent, neutral and credible. If the enlargement of the Security Council happens, he requested Arab representation among the permanent members in addition to a fair representation of Arab countries in the non-permanent category of seats.
Saint Lucia, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said the world faces many difficult challenges which require robust responses from the United Nations. CARICOM remains fully supportive of the need for increasing the representation and improving the responsiveness of the Security Council.
Singapore said there is no level playing field for election to non-permanent seats by small states. The elections for non-permanent seats are very often dominated by larger regional states, many of whom have established a pattern of seeking a seat on the Council at frequent intervals. It is therefore extremely challenging for a small state to campaign and run against much larger states with any success.
The remarks of the U.S. representative were intended to feign
concern for the obvious need for reforming the Security Council
but
preserving the role the U.S. has usurped for itself as
"indispensable
nation." The serious issue raised by member states of their lack
of
representation are ignored, despite the fact that even elections
of
non-permanent nations are submitted to the usual corruption of
lobbying
for votes on pain of reprisals by the U.S. The U.S. regularly
bullies
them into submitting to its will seen in vote results time and
time
again.
The U.S. representative said that if states want the Security Council to operate at its full potential, and for it to remain the world's primary forum for addressing threats to international peace and security, "it needs to adapt." This is U.S. president Biden's mantra to maintain the status quo. At the General Assembly last year, Biden announced that the United States was committed to reform, including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent seats on the council, with permanent seats for countries in Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean. Biden has since reaffirmed this commitment, the U.S. representative claimed, because he recognizes that the council, as presently constituted, does not represent today's realities. The U.S. ambassador continued, saying that a council that is not representative can be less credible in the eyes of those who do not feel seen, heard or understood. States cannot afford a crisis of confidence in the body, she said. By acknowledging the profound crisis of legitimacy of the UNSC, the representative's words cover up who it is who makes the decisions in favour of what interests and the need to break this stranglehold. She said that "during a listening tour with Member States and regional groupings," she heard concerns about dysfunction and politicization within the Council. Some believe their voices have gone unheard, she condescendingly said adding that, in this context, Member States will need "to re-examine long-held national positions, ask themselves tough questions and remain open to compromise in order to affect lasting change." The U.S. ambassador did not of course recognize the central problem of the well-known U.S. abuse of the UNSC to serve its narrow interests, such as to impose sanctions or justify military intervention against countries that will not submit to U.S. dictate.
Mexico said that recent events have spotlighted the paralysis in the Security Council. Given this persistent problem, the question is how to resolve it. Concerns about the vetos exercised by the five permanent members are clear and ongoing. There is no lack of examples of the council's inability to act. States have a responsibility to work towards a reform that allows it to comply with its mandate and regain people's trust. "Reform is more urgent than ever," Mexico's representative said, adding that this cycle of negotiations is crucial.
South Africa said new conflicts and threats to international security necessitate an urgent and committed discussion on Security Council reform. The world is not the same as it was in 1945. For decades, the lack of diversity and the unrepresentativeness of the Council has opened it up to the criticism that it is anachronistic, lacks credibility and legitimacy, and that it employs double standards in the subscription to international law based on Council members' own interests. A spirit of inclusive multilateralism is needed to underpin discussions on the reform of the Council. South Africa is willing to engage as broadly and widely as possible to arrive at multilateral solutions, he stated.
Brazil said at a time when the world needs it most, the Security Council has shown itself to be incapable of, or find great difficulty in, meeting its primary responsibility in key conflicts, situations and regions. The Security Council cannot be fully legitimate and effective as long as the developing world is sidelined and entire regions, such as Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa, are not represented in the permanent category. Any reform that does not address this major flaw would be mere window dressing and, worse.
Vietnam said the November 15 adoption of the first resolution on the situation in Gaza by the Security Council brought some hope. "It remains inexplicable why it took this most exclusive and powerful organ more than five weeks, after more than 10,000 innocent lives had been lost, to finally reach an agreement of limited scope," he said.
Iran said that safeguarding the Security Council's credibility requires an unequivocal rejection of any attempts to use it for pursuing national political agendas. Pointing to the Council's "massive failure" to respond to the ongoing war crimes against the Palestinians, he said it is "a clear indication of the necessity for material change" in this body. He stressed that the Council should have adopted a more robust text urging a durable and urgent ceasefire in Gaza. Discussions about the veto authority, criticized by a large majority of Member States, should top the agenda of the intergovernmental negotiations process, he said, adding that all decisions should be adopted by consensus and added that the expansion of permanent and non-permanent membership without considering the five reform clusters risks misrepresenting Member States' positions, he warned.
Venezuela said the principles of inclusion and legal equality between States must guide the process of negotiation towards Council reform. Member States should redouble efforts to correct the persistent historic inequalities inherited from colonialism, including the composition of the Council itself.
(With files from UN News)
This article was published in
Volume 53 Number 22 - November 17, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/MS53224.HTM
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