General Assembly Session 52 meeting 63

Mr. Dlamini (Swaziland)

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate once again in the debate on this item on behalf of the delegation of the Kingdom of Swaziland.

At the outset, the Kingdom of Swaziland associate itself fully with the well-known position of the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as that of the African Group, which was adopted at the Organization of African Unity summit meeting of Heads of State and Government held in Harare, Zimbabwe, in June this year. Within the framework of these positions, the Kingdom of Swaziland wishes to make a few comments on the issues at hand.

My delegation is concerned at the slow progress in the ongoing deliberations on ways to restructure and democratize the Security Council. When this process began in earnest in 1993 the world had high expectations that at last the United Nations had realized the wisdom of redressing the imbalance that exists in Security Council representation within a reasonable time-frame. It is now for the fourth consecutive year that the General Assembly continues to consider the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council. After this time, we hope that many delegations will not pontificate on their positions over and over again, because the various positions are very well known by now. It is the view of my delegation that we should begin another phase to engage more in deep and frank negotiations in good faith, if we are to reach a compromise on the issues.

The Non-Aligned Movement and the African Group have presented concrete proposals that must be taken into account by the Open-ended Working Group concerned during its next meeting, in the endeavour to reach a decision. As in all negotiations, delegations must now demonstrate their willingness to move away from their entrenched positions.

The Kingdom of Swaziland wishes to underscore that within the general context of the revitalization and restructuring of the Organization primacy should be accorded to the principles of democracy and the sovereign equality of States. In this regard, enlargement of the Security Council, particularly the permanent membership, is not only necessary but justifiable, to make it more reflective of the universal character of the United Nations. In the same vein, we wish to reiterate that strengthening the role of the General Assembly is central to the current exercise of restructuring the Security Council, to ensure transparency in the work of the entire Organization.

The issue of permanent membership is at the very heart and soul of the matter. The position of my country was articulated in our country statement delivered from this podium by His Majesty King Mswati III during the general debate. We also reiterate the African common position for a modest demand of at least two permanent seats in the Council. Africa makes it clear that seats allocated to the regional groups should be subject to nomination by their regions for eventual election by the General Assembly.

This method would reduce, and ultimately remove, the focus on narrow national interests that currently characterize the decisions of the Council. Members of the Security Council must individually and collectively act in the interest of international peace and security, not in their narrow national interests. The principle of regional seats would go a long way towards ensuring this. Criteria such as the size, power, population or even wealth of a country would be flawed, for these factors are not constant. The new system must also be subject to periodic review. Not every method would assist in meeting this noble objective.

On the question of the veto, the Kingdom of Swaziland fully subscribes to the well-known position of the Non-Aligned Movement. With the demise of the cold war and the emergence of a new international world order, the continuation of the veto power can no longer be justified. Regrettably, we should resign ourselves to the painful reality that the veto will remain a permanent feature as a strong nucleus that pulls the permanent members together. However, we continue to hold the view that in the globalization phenomenon of interdependence, where consultations and consensus characterize decision-making, the veto no longer serves any useful purpose for the international system.

Turning to the working methods of the Security Council, the Kingdom of Swaziland believes that the Council should take further measures to enhance its working methods and procedures and to improve its working relationship with other United Nations organs, particularly the General Assembly, and that its provisional rules should be formalized and institutionalized. In this respect, we submit that the paper of the Non-Aligned Movement, given its comprehensive nature on this issue, would go a long way in laying a foundation for substantive discussion of the matter along with those measures already undertaken by the Council in reforming itself.

The reform of the Security Council is the most politically charged subject at the United Nations because of its significant impact on the future direction of the Organization. We therefore understand the impasse in forging a consensus on the issue, given the complexities of the nature of the subject. While we recognize that full and patient discussions and consultations should be continued, my delegation would appeal to all fellow Member States to be flexible. In particular, the permanent members must display their willingness to change their position in an integrated fashion on the overall size of the new Security Council, especially with regard to permanent seats with full powers for developing countries. My delegation looks forward to a fruitful exchange of views on how best to further advance the discussion on Security Council reform during the next meeting of the Open-ended Working Group in mid-January 1998. To that end, we welcome the reappointment of Ambassador Breitenstein, Permanent Representative of Finland, and Ambassador Jayanama, Permanent Representative of Thailand, as co-Vice-Chairmen of the Working Group. We believe that their reappointment will give impetus to the momentum that has already been gained on this issue.

The Assembly will agree that the United Nations always takes the pivotal platform in world community affairs. We have recently been debating the restoration of democracy in various corners of the world. That debate clearly demonstrated how the United Nations is fully geared to ensuring the principle of representativeness, especially democracy. If we speak of democracy, therefore, let us follow the old adage that "charity begins at home". Let us all seriously ask ourselves whether there is democracy within the walls of this Organization, especially the Security Council.

This is the time that we can address seriously the question of democracy, especially within, and by, the United Nations. The question of the permanent five must be an issue of the past if we as the United Nations are to vigorously pursue the principle of democracy.

Mr. Qin Huasun (China)

First of all, I wish to extend my congratulations to Ambassador Breitenstein of Finland and Ambassador Jayanama of Thailand on their re-election as co-Vice-Chairmen of the Open-ended Working Group on the reform of the Security Council. Thanks to the combined efforts of the two Ambassadors, during the previous session of the General Assembly, the Working Group held discussions on the reform of the Security Council that were even more in-depth and detailed, giving us a clearer picture of the relevant issues. The Chinese delegation believes that under the personal guidance of the President and with the coordinated hard work of the two co-Vice-Chairmen, the Working Group will be able to conduct its work smoothly during this session of the General Assembly.

The core issue in the reform of the Security Council is how to enlarge it. The Chinese Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen pointed out in his statement during this year's general debate that:

"The enlargement of the Security Council should follow the principle of equitable geographical distribution and ensure a proper balance between developing and developed countries. The Security Council will better perform the lofty mission entrusted to it under the United Nations Charter only when it becomes more broadly representative." [See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-second Session, Plenary Meetings, 9th meeting]

In 1963, the membership of the Security Council grew from 11 to 15. Since then there have been tremendous changes on the world stage, the most important of which is the emergence of a vast number of developing countries. Developing countries represent more than two thirds of the total United Nations membership and have an ever-growing influence on world affairs. The reform of the Security Council, one of the principal organs of the United Nations system, should first and foremost reflect this change and redress the longstanding imbalance in geographical representation in the Security Council, particularly the imbalance between the developed and developing countries.

The question before us was first placed on the agenda of the General Assembly in 1979 at the request of nine developing countries. It has now been under consideration in the General Assembly for 19 years running. At its forty-eighth session, in 1993, the General Assembly decided to establish the Open-ended Working Group on the question of equitable representation of an increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council. This Group has now been working for four consecutive years. However, big differences on the enlargement of the Security Council continue to exist. One of the reasons for this is the failure to resolve the question of how to redress the existing imbalance in the Security Council between the developed and developing countries.

It is noteworthy that as a result of discussions in the Working Group over the past several years, the so-called "quick- fix" proposal -- that is, admitting some countries into the Security Council first -- has been rejected. However, a small number of countries are still using such arguments as "to view the question practically and take into full consideration the actual situation in various different regions" as an excuse to apply double standards and discriminate against developing countries. We should be especially vigilant against such quick fixes "through the back door". We believe that the legitimate demand for equitable representation of the developing countries in the Security Council is widely recognized and supported by all countries. This hard-won common understanding should be the basis and prerequisite for the future reform of the Council. Any reform plan that deviates from this common understanding will not be feasible.

I should also like to stress that the Charter of the United Nations has entrusted the Security Council with primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The enlargement of the Security Council should help strengthen the Council's ability to carry out this task, promote peace and stability in various regions and avert any escalation of regional confrontations or conflicts among Member States. Reform of the Council should also enable it better to reflect the collective will and shared aspirations of Member States, instead of turning it into a club for the rich or the board of directors of a company.

Another important aspect of the reform of the Security Council is improving its working methods and enhancing the transparency of its work while ensuring its efficiency, so that Member States can understand better and participate to a greater extent in the Council's work. The working methods of the Council have undergone continual improvements over the past few years. The Working Group of the Security Council concerning the Council's documentation and other procedural questions has undertaken considerable efforts in this regard, and the General Assembly Working Group has also put forward a number of useful proposals. All this has helped further to improve the Council's work. Of course, improving the working methods of the Security Council is a gradual process that needs to be continually perfected. We hope to see more progress in this field.

As the only developing country among the permanent members of the Security Council, China has always supported, and worked actively for, an improvement in the working methods of the Council and enhanced transparency in its work. Last month, when it held the presidency of the Council, China not only devoted a great deal of attention to improving the efficiency of the Council's work while handling effectively many urgent issues and emergency situations, but also tried hard to enhance the transparency of the Council's work by briefing non-Council members on the same day that consultations were held and reporting in time to the President of the General Assembly and to the Chairmen of the various regional Groups on the working arrangements of the Council and relevant developments. At the request of Council members, preliminary discussions on questions of interest to a vast number of Member States, such as the issue of sanctions, were also arranged. China is ready to discuss with fellow United Nations Member States possible ways to further improve the working methods of the Council.

The Chinese delegation has always held that reform of the Security Council should not only be handled with a sense of urgency but also treated seriously and cautiously, so that whatever emerges from the reform process in future will be able to stand the test of time. We are in favour of enlarging the Council, but we are also of the view that on such a major question as the reform of the Security Council -- a question that affects the interests of all countries -- extensive and considered discussions and consultations should be held to try to reach consensus, or at least near-consensus. Relevant proposals on the reform of the Council should be fully discussed in the Working Group set up by the General Assembly so that common understanding can be reached.

Any course of action such as setting a deadline for reform or forcing a vote on certain proposals in the General Assembly when conditions are not yet ripe would bring about serious consequences and is thus inappropriate. We hope that the Working Group will continue to conduct thorough discussions and consultations on the various plans and proposals relating to reform of the Council in a fair and reasonable manner, with adequate openness and transparency, while formulating an overall plan that gives due consideration to all concerned.

Mr. Elaraby (Egypt)

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