Pakistan calls for UN Security Council reforms, more transparency
Pakistan
Ambassador Akram proposes focus on all fronts to reform UN bodies
UNITED NATIONS (APP) - The UN Security Council must be more transparent and inclusive in conducting its business to meet the challenges posed by current global, regional conflicts and crises, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram has said.
Delivering Pakistan’s statement at a debate on Working Methods under the long-running Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reforms, he said that while everyone was agreed on early restructuring of the 15-member body, the ‘Pact for the Future’, which the world leaders adopted last September, calls for strengthening the entire UN system, including the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Peacebuilding Commission.
Ambassador Akram therefore proposed focusing on moving on all fronts to reform the UN bodies.
Responding to a suggestion during the debate for reflecting on “new realities”, he said doing that would again freeze the Council at a particular time in its 1945 framework — when the world body was established.
“Any expansion of permanent members would freeze the Council at that moment; It is only through the process of elections that the new realities that constantly change can be reflected in the composition of the Security Council, not by adding new permanent members,” the Pakistani envoy said.
He was obviously referring to the intensive campaign by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — known as the Group of Four — for permanent seats as they seek expansion of the Council by 10 seats, with six additional permanent and four non-permanent members.
On the other hand, the Italy/Pakistan-led Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, which firmly opposes additional permanent members, has proposed a new category of members — not permanent members — with longer duration in terms and a possibility to get re-elected, raising the number of elected seats to 21.
The discussions over the years have revealed convergences as well as divergences on various elements of reform — convergence on priority for Africa, expanding the membership of developing countries and on the need for representation of regional and cross-regional groups, the Pakistani envoy said.
“But these discussions and the presentation of models have also revealed the divergences and these are considerable divergences on the size of the Council, on the issue of the categories of membership, on regional representations, on the veto, and even on working methods where there is a large convergence.”
