Media Home
UN Web TV
UN PhotoGeneral Assembly
41st Plenary Meeting of General Assembly 72nd Session
Lack of political will on the part of an “elite few” continued to threaten efforts to reform the Security Council, the General Assembly heard today, as delegates warned that the resulting inertia risked jeopardizing the 15 member organ’s credibility and that of the entire United Nations system.
“More and more, we are hearing calls for the United Nations to change and evolve at a faster pace,” said General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák (Slovakia) in opening remarks. Noting that the Council’s work could mean the difference between life and death — and was viewed as one of the main indicators of the United Nations role in the world — he underscored that the Assembly itself held the key to such reform efforts. Calling for real dialogue and interaction to reach that objective, he warned that without them, the reform process would remain a mere exercise in repeating the static positions of Member States.
Throughout the subsequent debate, representatives of more than 60 delegations outlined their various proposals on five core elements of reform: membership categories, the question of the veto held by the Council’s five permanent members (China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States), regional representation, the size of an enlarged Council and the body’s working methods. Many welcomed that, a decade into a formal intergovernmental negotiation process, the gap between States’ positions was now narrowing, with broad agreement emerging on the notion of expanding the Council’s non permanent membership in favour of countries belonging to underrepresented regions.
Colombia’s delegate, mirroring a concern voiced by many delegations, said it was “high time” to expand the representation of such regions as Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, she warned against any reform initiatives that would expand the use of the veto or perpetuate such privileges among an “elite few”. Calling on the Council to “lead by example”, she said regular elections would be critical to ensuring that the body became more inclusive and democratic.
Similarly, Zambia’s representative responded to delegations calling for limits on extending the veto to new permanent Council members by emphasizing that Africa was not prepared to accept second-class status. As such, it would continue to demand that any permanent member, new or old, possess the veto. “Africa cannot and will not accept that its fate will be discussed without its full participation,” he said, underlining that it also would “not accept to be treated as a child that cannot be trusted to exercise the veto responsibly”.
Kuwait’s delegate, speaking for the Arab Group, said the arbitrary use of the veto by the five permanent members had, in fact, already harmed the Council’s credibility, pointing out that the veto had frequently been used to shield Israel from accountability for its practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Concerning the question of reining in veto power, Liechtenstein’s representative said his delegation had led efforts by the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group to create a code of conduct prohibiting its use in cases where the Security Council sought to take action against genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. “Subscribing to the code of conduct is the minimum commitment we should be able to expect from any Council member,” he stressed, noting that 114 Member States had already adhered to the code and pledged not to support any future Council candidates that had failed to do the same.
The United Kingdom’s representative, noting that his country had signed the code of conduct, said his delegation had not used its veto in a generation. “Sadly, we have seen others wielding their veto through narrow self-interest” to the detriment of the Council’s reputation, he said, noting that the use of the veto had prevented action in Syria against a despicable regime that had murdered its own people with chemical weapons. In addition, his delegation supported a modest expansion in membership, with permanent seats for Brazil, Germany, India and Japan alongside African representation.
France’s delegate also supported a strengthened presence for African countries as permanent and non permanent members. Further, to advance progress on reform efforts, he emphasized the need for a negotiation text, which was crucial to better reflect the realities of today’s world and bolster the Council’s ability to shoulder full responsibility for international peace and security.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s representative expressed concern that lack of will on the part of a few States remained the most persistent stumbling block in the way of a more representative, transparent and accountable Security Council. Certain delegations continued to blame others for the slow pace of that process, asking them for more flexibility, even as they remained firmly wedded to their own positions. Attempts to sidestep consensus through quick fixes and procedural manoeuvres had undermined mutual trust, she said, warning that introducing a negotiating text into that “chasm” would only widen differences.
Japan’s delegate, speaking for the Group of Four (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan) was among those urging the Assembly to move the intergovernmental process towards a text-based negotiation on particular reform elements. Such talks would hinge on the various positions and proposals of Member States, he said, calling for a concise and operational negotiation text as a logical next step. Reform was needed to make the Council more legitimate, effective and representative, he stressed, as well as to reflect the realities of the twenty first century.
Likewise, Sierra Leone’s representative, speaking for the African Group, emphasized the need to expand both the Council’s permanent and non permanent membership categories, while also pointing to considerable support among Member States for the inclusion of small- and medium-sized countries and enhanced African representation. Indeed, a Security Council that better represented the current global geopolitical realities would help to preserve the principles of equity and democracy, while enhancing its own legitimacy and effectiveness.
However, Italy’s delegate, speaking for the Uniting for Consensus Group, described the demand by some States for more permanent seats on the Security Council as the main roadblock impeding progress in the negotiations process. In that context, the Group’s proposed establishment of a category of longer-term, non permanent membership with the possibility of immediate re election — as well as more equitable distribution among regional groups — would fulfil the legitimate desire of some countries to make a greater contribution to the Council’s work.
The representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, meanwhile, stressed that the fundamental principles of equality, sovereignty and mutual respect between countries continued to be wantonly violated, with the United States in particular abusing its privileged position as a permanent member of the Council to pursue its strategy of world dominance. That included aggravating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, he said, adding that Council reform must aim at ensuring impartiality, objectivity and democracy, while avoiding double standards, arrogance and arbitrariness. In addition, abnormalities such as the adoption of resolutions designed to justify and legitimize a specific country’s moves for aggression or war should be rejected.
Also speaking were representatives of Guyana (for the Caribbean Community), Norway (for the Nordic countries), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (for the L.69 Group), India, Australia, Malta, Guatemala, Brazil, Philippines, Swaziland, Mongolia, Singapore, Nepal, Estonia, Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, Slovakia, Argentina, Egypt, Slovenia, Maldives, Peru, Cuba, Spain, China, Thailand, Germany, South Africa, Mexico, San Marino, Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Morocco, Latvia, Panama, Ukraine, Qatar, Nigeria, Ghana and the Russian Federation.
The Assembly will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 8 November, to continue the debate.