UNITED NATIONS – The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dennis Francis, Thursday sad there has been steady growth in the calls for the long overdue reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with regards to its equitable representation on and increase in the membership.
UNGA President, Ambassador Dennis Francis (CMC Photo)Reform of the UNSC encompasses five key issues, namely categories of membership, the question of the veto held by the five permanent members, regional representation, the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods, and the Security Council-General Assembly relationship.
However, any change to the UNSC’s composition or voting rules would require the approval of two-thirds of UN members, including each of the five permanent members – United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France – accompanied by relevant domestic legislation.
Francis, who is also the Trinidad and Tobago Permanent Representative to the UN, said that the UNGA added the question of equitable representation in the Security Council to its agenda as far back as 1979.
“Since then, not much has changed in re-adapting the institution to better reflect current realities. It is therefore not at all surprising that over the past years, there has been steady growth in the calls for the long overdue reform; such calls, of late, reaching something of a crescendo.”
Francis said that in recent weeks, these calls have been forcefully articulated by the numerous groups and individual member states advocating for meaningful progress.
“Never before has this issue been more pressing, both contextually and practically,” he said, adding that “while we ponder the way forward, let us also consider the task before us.
“Violence and war continue to spread in regions across the world, while the United Nations seems paralyzed due largely to the divisions in the Security Council.
“While some of today’s challenges could not have been envisioned eight decades ago, those that we did foresee are blazing onto the geopolitical landscape with new and deeply worrying ferocity.”
Francis said that amid this sea-change, the Security Council is “dangerously falling short of its mandate” as the primary custodian for the maintenance of international peace and security.
“Absent structural reform, its performance and legitimacy will inevitably continue to suffer and so too, the credibility and relevance of the UN itself. Without public allegiance and support, the institutional strength of the United Nations would be further weakened leading inevitably to its termination.
“May I caution this august house that stasis can be as formidable a foe as chaos. We cannot usefully perpetuate positions that while familiar fail to bring us closer together,” he said, adding that he is approaching the question of Council reform also within the context of wider UN reform and a steadfast determination to help overcome divisions.
Francis said he has re-appointed co-chairs to continue the important intergovernmental negotiation process on this issue and he is hopeful that member states will continue to extend their full support as the co-chairs steer these critical deliberations, and work to build on the landmark progress made last session.
“Given the stakes, we will however, need fresh, innovative thinking on reform pathways. One of the ways we can repair trust, firstly among ourselves, in this cocoon, and crucially, with our eight billion constituents who live beyond it is to infuse our deliberations with the spirit of solidarity and conciliation needed to meet this moment and thereby, to nullify the ever-present disposition towards dissention and discord.”
He said that one occasion not to be missed is the Summit of the Future in September 2024 and in preparation for the event “we must work purposively to ensure that world leaders are provided with the opportunity to advance key debates and to bring multilateral institutions and frameworks into alignment with the dictates and circumstances of today’s world.
“I therefore urge member states to grasp this opportunity to break through ingrained positions, and to promote Security Council reform through practical steps that support effectiveness and moreover, represent the full diversity of geographies.”
Francis said that at the end of the day, the fate of Security Council reform is in the hands of the countries and that the General Assembly is the only UN body with a mandate “to seek an appropriate and worthy response to this question that has staunchly defied our efforts for decades.
“With the eyes of the world fixated upon us even more constantly now, a posture of procrastination will only feed perceptions that our structures are antiquated and irrelevant and therefore, structurally incapable of delivering outcomes that protect and/or bolster international peace and security.
“In the final analysis, the decision is yours, member states, to determine how to use these inter-governmental negotiations to make real progress, if in fact, there is a real appetite for substantive progress,” the Trinidad and Tobago diplomat added.
