Stating that major disputes in South Asia and the Middle East remain "asleep" on the UN Security Council's agenda, Pakistan on Thursday urged the 15-member body to settle those issues in order to address that perception.
"The Council needs to recalibrate its efforts in conflict prevention and relapse, particularly in the context of resolution of outstanding disputes between member states," Amjad Hussain Sial, acting Pakistan's Permanent Representative, told the General Assembly in its annual debate on Security Council reforms.
"Major unresolved issues, including in our own region, remain asleep on the agenda of the Security Council," he said in an obvious reference to the decades-old Indo-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir. "Even in the case of some important issues on the active agenda, particularly the Middle East, the Council seems to have abdicated its role. The Council needs to address this perception."
Ambassador Sial, who was commenting on the annual Security Council report on its work, said that it had failed to offer sufficient information, especially with regard to its decision-making process. It was widely noted that decisions evolved mostly in closed-door sessions, if not behind the scenes, by a few key states. The decisions lacked transparency and inclusiveness, he said, adding that Pakistan was committed to comprehensive reform of the Security Council, and the question was how to achieve the objective, Sial told the 192-member Assembly.
"We firmly believe that the answer lies not in enlarging the coterie of the powerful few, but by strengthening democratic representation, role and influence of the general membership of the UN in the Security Council," he said, apparently referring to the bid by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan to seek permanent seats on the Council for themselves.
The important work was done during the intergovernmental negotiations during the last sessions, but it was clear that achieving a solution was far away. The most nettlesome issue remained the expansion of the Council's membership, which now consists of five veto-holding permanent members --China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States--and 10 rotating non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
The Pakistan delegate noted three areas of convergence among member states: reform had to be comprehensive and based on the principle of single undertaking; reform of the Council must make it diverse and plural in geographical representation; and reform must not be imposed by a few, but enjoy the widest possible support of the membership. "Pakistan believes that to achieve real progress on Security Council reform, a modicum of flexibility and compromise is needed, Sial said.
"We can say with confidence that position of the 'Uniting for Consensus Group' is flexible and realistic," he said about the Italy/Pakistan group's stand to prevent any expansion in the permanent category and to pave the way for the expansion of non-permanent members. "It allows variable arrangements and different possibilities and options, including rotation and longer term presence, through re-election, and provides a greater relevance to regional representation," the Pakistan delegate added.
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