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Madam Chair,
We thank you for convening this second meeting of the IGN, focusing on size and working methods – one of five key issues concerning the important question of reform of the Security Council.
Pakistan aligns itself with the statement delivered by Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi of Italy on behalf of the Uniting for Consensus Group.
Madam Chair,
There is general agreement among the membership that the size of the Council needs to be enlarged owing to the increase in the UN’s membership over the past five decades to make it more representative and democratic. There is also broad support that such expansion should ensure that the Council’s compact nature and efficacy is not compromised.
A significant increase would open greater opportunity for wider representation while a smaller increase will guard against making it unwieldy and tend to keep the Council effective.
Our goal must be to balance these two considerations. Therefore, every seat added to the Council will need to be justified on the grounds of its contribution to the Security Council’s representativeness and effectiveness.
I will not repeat the numbers, which underscore the urgent need to enhance regional and equitable representation of Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. But I would stress that every seat added to the Council should meet and address this need.
This plainly rules out any possibility of satisfying the national ambitions of a few in a limited expansion of the Council. Permanent seats are essentially national seats in perpetuity. Being the antithesis to the principle of political and democratic representation, every permanent seat added to the Council will foreclose a valuable opportunity for many capable and aspiring States to serve on the Council and also be accountable to their respective regions through periodic elections.
Simply put, nothing justifies sacrificing the legitimate interest of all UN Member States to serve the self-centered interests of a few. Moreover, this would be a travesty of the principle of the sovereign equality of States.
It is also important to assess the effect of the size of each category of the Security Council on its efficiency and effectiveness. Few will argue that in most instances it was a standoff or deadlock between the permanent members that prevented the Council from fulfilling its mandate. How then, can we even consider doubling the number of permanent seats in the Council? Arguments to the contrary defy logic.
Pakistan believes that the Security Council needs to be expanded by an appropriate number in the mid-twenties so long as the seats added to the Council remain electable on the basis of fixed rotation and periodic elections. Each additional seat in the Council should be open to all Member States on the principle of equitable geographic representation. There should be no additional permanent seats.
Madam Chair,
Our debate on the Working methods of the Council needs to be seen from two perspectives.
We have a broad consensus on enhancing transparency, inclusive decision-making and accountability of the Council.
Pakistan believes that efforts to improve the Council’s working methods should continue both within and outside the Council. During Pakistan’s last term in the Council, we re-introduced wrap-up sessions which have now become a norm. Pakistan also made specific proposals on enhancing intra-council communication and organized Aria Formula meeting. All these steps were taken to augment openness and transparency of the Council’s working.
Because the Council considers itself a master of itsown procedures, it is important to consider developing a joint mechanism between the Council and the General Assembly on improving its existing working methods. Such a mechanism could open the Council’s Working Group on working methods to the inputs and proposals of all Member States and could help identify common grounds.
Let us now look at the Council’s working methods in the context of an expanded Council.
Traditionally, non-permanent members have always been more active in improving the Council’s working methods. Permanent members have tended to be more conservative. The reasons are apparent. Elected members cannot ignore the importance of openness and transparency because their presence in the Council is temporary. Their efforts to improve working methods strengthen their credentials for future election to the body. This is how a system of fixed rotation and periodic elections is intricately linked to the Council’s working methods.
The argument that more permanent members will enhance the Council’s openness and transparency is disingenuous and contrary to our past experience. Addition of more permanent members will not only decelerate the pace of improvement in the Council’s working methods, it will hobble and complicate the Council’s decision-making.
Madam Chair,
It makes no sense, on the one hand, to suggest ideas on existing working methods that aim to make the Council more open, democratic, transparent and accountable and, on the other hand, propose additional permanent seats that could undercut the same objectives in an expanded Council.
Pakistan, therefore, firmly believes that the objectives underlying our desire for more open, transparent and inclusive working methods of the Council can best be achieved by strengthening the democratic and representative nature of the Council, particularly by reinforcing the number and role of the elected members.
Madam Chair,
In the last debate of the IGN on 3 February, my delegation was among the many who stressed the importance of inter-linkages among issues. We have today identified many such inter-linkages regarding the subjects being considered.
The rationales and principles underlying proposals on the five key issues of reform need to be consistent. We cannot create a mirage of pursuing our goal of a more democratic, representative, accountable, transparent and effective Council in one area, while at the same time weakening the same principles in another key area of reform.
We, therefore, believe that genuine convergence among Member States can only emerge by discussing respective positions and proposals in an inter-linked manner. This should be the bedrock of our effort to achieve a comprehensive reform of the Council, which can garner the widest possible political support, as mandated by Decision 62/557.
Towards this end, Madam Chair, you can count on our constructive and cooperative engagement.
I thank you, Madam Chair.