| Date | 5 December 1997 |
|---|---|
| Started | 10:00 |
| Ended | 13:00 |
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Agenda item 59 (continued)
Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters
Draft resolution (A/52/L.7)
Amendment (A/52/L.47)
Mr. Jele (South Africa)
My delegation also would like to commend our two Vice-Chairmen, Ambassadors Breitenstein of Finland and Jayanama of Thailand, for the able manner in which they have guided our deliberations on the agenda item before us in the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council. I associate myself with the views expressed by the Permanent Representative of Egypt on behalf of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries during yesterday's debate.
The sessions of the Open-ended Working Group have been exhaustive, with views expressed on issues ranging from the expansion of the permanent membership category to that of the use of the veto.
It cannot be overemphasized that the fundamental goal of the current debate on the reform of the Security Council is to create a Council which is democratic and accountable to the broader membership of the Organization. Indeed, if the Security Council is to fulfil the role of custodian of peace and security envisaged for it in the Charter, it must be perceived to be legitimate by Member States and the international community. This can happen only when its composition reflects the broad membership, which has almost quadrupled since 1945, thereby making it crucial that developing States be party to decision-making in the new Council. The recent proposal by some of the five permanent member States to grant five permanent seats -- two to developed and three to developing countries -- would lead to a Council with an unbalanced configuration in favour of the industrialized countries: a ratio of 6 to 4.
It has also been indicated that the extension of the veto to the new members might be considered on the condition that the candidates have been clearly identified and that any increase above the figure of 20 or 21 in the number of seats to be allocated would be strongly opposed. Let me hasten to say that these proposals fail to accommodate Africa's legitimate claim to a total of five non-permanent and at least two permanent seats in the new Security Council.
South Africa believes that any attempt to allocate only one permanent seat to Africa, without the prerogatives and powers accorded to the current permanent membership, would be discriminatory and unjust. It will lead to the further marginalization of Africa, the largest regional group represented here at the United Nations. Similarly, attempts to limit the overall increase in the membership to a total of fewer than 26 members will constitute an under-representation of the developing countries and therefore not amount to a meaningful enlargement of the Council.
It is our view that the whole question of Security Council efficiency can be properly addressed by improving the working methods of that body rather than by limiting its expansion, because such a restriction would ignore the principle of the sovereign equality of States and the need for representation based on equitable geographical distribution, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. With regard to the issue of permanent membership, such membership without the veto would represent a merely symbolic gesture to the new members of the Council. South Africa would therefore reject the notion of inferior members that may serve without the prerogatives and privileges attached to permanent membership.
During the Open-ended Working Group sessions we have made progress in some areas. There is, for instance, a certain measure of convergence of views on the question of enlargement in the non-permanent membership category, as well as on the issue of improving the transparency in the working methods of the Security Council. Since these two areas have proved to be less contentious, it is the view of my delegation that during the ensuing sessions we should try to reach general agreement on them and then seriously focus on the issue of the size and composition of the enlarged Security Council and on the question of the veto. The working papers on the veto already submitted to the Working Group could serve as a basis for further debate leading to a decision. The veto, in terms of both its use and its extension to the new permanent members, has emerged as a critical factor in the democratization and therefore credibility of the United Nations. The question of the veto therefore must of necessity form an integral part of the whole discussion.
The debate on this agenda item has once again underscored that a Security Council which continues to be undemocratic and unrepresentative cannot by any stretch of the imagination represent the interests of the membership in its vital task of promoting and maintaining international peace and security. It is South Africa's hope, therefore, that all delegations will display the necessary flexibility and political will to achieve the desired progress in our joint undertaking to create a Security Council which is truly representative, transparent and democratic. My delegation looks forward to a constructive discussion on the issue of the reform of the Security Council when we resume our debates early next year.
Mr. Mapuranga (Zimbabwe)
My delegation welcomes debate at this stage of our consideration of the important question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council. This is basically because it offers us a timeous opportunity to not only take stock of and monitor our progress, but also to exchange viewpoints that might very well facilitate greater understanding and progress in our future consultations.
During the course of the year, debate on this crucial issue was further enriched by guidelines, positions and preferences emanating from the lively interchanges in the Open-ended Working Group on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council, as well as in important meetings of various regional groups. In this connection, I wish to commend the efforts of the Co-Vice-Chairmen of the Working Group, Ambassadors Breitenstein and Jayanama.
Zimbabwe's position was vindicated, further enhanced and strengthened by the Declaration of the Twelfth Ministerial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, which was held in New Delhi in April this year, as well as by the Declaration of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at their thirty-third ordinary session, held in Harare in June this year.
My delegation is greatly encouraged by the growing and already resounding acceptance of and agreement on the need for expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of the Council's membership. An expanded Council will enjoy fresh perspectives in its deliberations and broad alliances in its decision-making, which is, after all, the purpose of our exercise -- to make the Council more representative, legitimate and credible. Expansion in both categories is essential to meet the needs and views of a vast majority and wide range of Member States. It is also essential to maintain a balanced ratio between the two categories of the Council's membership.
In this regard, I wish to seize this opportunity to reiterate Africa's strong position that it should be allocated no less than two permanent seats, to be allotted to countries by a decision of the Africans themselves, in accordance with a system of rotation based on the current established criteria of the OAU and subsequent elements which might improve upon these criteria. Africa should also be allocated five non-permanent seats in the expanded Security Council. These are not outrageous demands. These are reasonable demands based on the principle of democratic representativity on a proportional basis among the regions.
Furthermore, and in order not to perpetuate differences and discrimination among members of the Security Council, particularly in the permanent category, it is Africa's principled and cardinal position that the new permanent members should be granted the same prerogatives and powers, including the power of veto, as the current members now enjoy. This is based on the principles of non-discrimination and sovereign equality of Member States. A major flaw in the Razali proposals is that they are not guided by these cardinal principles.
The interests of all countries and regions should seriously be taken into consideration in this historic and unprecedented exercise. Any attempt to force a premature and inconclusive decision will do irreparable damage and unforgivable harm to this very sensitive process, which lies so close to the hearts of all Members of this Organization. In this regard, transparency and consensus must remain the custodians of our mutual trust and confidence in this process.
This formula is the most democratic means of increase in the permanent category, and minimizes the risk of setting discriminatory criteria for permanent membership. It is for this and other reasons that my delegation will continue to insist on the simultaneous entry of all new permanent members, and to oppose any attempts to force a decision which does not take on board Africa's interests and those of other regions.
I also wish to underline the importance we attach to the need for periodic review of the structure and functioning of the Security Council in order to enable it to respond better and more effectively to the new and dynamic challenges in international relations, especially with regard to international peace and security.
My delegation is confident that the General Assembly will continue to deal with this issue with the importance and urgency it deserves, and in the most democratic and transparent manner, consistent with the mandate it has given itself and its relevant Open-ended Working Group, which must continue its work in order to resolve all outstanding issues. I wish to assure you, Mr. President, that you will find my delegation most cooperative in this regard.
Mr. Powles (New Zealand)
--> -->
| <type 'exceptions.UnicodeEncodeError'> | Python 2.6.6: /usr/bin/python Thu May 23 19:04:02 2013 |
A problem occurred in a Python script. Here is the sequence of function calls leading up to the error, in the order they occurred.
| /data/vhost/www.undemocracy.com/docs/trunk.py in |
| 194 if __name__ == "__main__": |
| 195 pathpart = os.getenv("PATH_INFO") |
| 196 maintrunk(pathpart) |
| 197 |
| 198 |
| maintrunk = <function maintrunk>, pathpart = '/generalassembly_52/meeting_64/highlight_A-RES-48-26' |
| /data/vhost/www.undemocracy.com/docs/trunk.py in maintrunk(pathpart='/generalassembly_52/meeting_64/highlight_A-RES-48-26') |
| 131 elif pagefunc == "gameeting": |
| 132 LogIncomingDB(hmap["docid"], hmap["gadice"] or "0", referrer, ipaddress, useragent, remadeurl) |
| 133 WriteHTML(hmap["htmlfile"], hmap["pdfinfo"], hmap["gadice"], hmap["highlightdoclink"]) |
| 134 elif pagefunc == "agendanumexpanded": |
| 135 LogIncomingDB(pagefunc, hmap["agendanum"], referrer, ipaddress, useragent, remadeurl) |
| global WriteHTML = <function WriteHTML>, hmap = {'docid': 'A-52-PV.64', 'gadice': '', 'gameeting': 64, 'gasession': 52, 'highlightdoclink': 'A-RES-48-26', 'htmlfile': '/home/undemocracy/undata/html/A-52-PV.64.html', 'pagefunc': 'gameeting', 'pdfinfo': <pdfinfo.PdfInfo instance>} |
| /home/undemocracy/unparse-live/web2/unpvmeeting.py in WriteHTML(fhtml='/home/undemocracy/undata/html/A-52-PV.64.html', pdfinfo=<pdfinfo.PdfInfo instance>, gadice='', highlightth='A-RES-48-26') |
| 322 if dclass == "spoken": |
| 323 if not gadice or agendagidcurrent == gadice: |
| 324 WriteSpoken(gid, dtextmu, councilpresidentnation) |
| 325 elif dclass == "subheading": |
| 326 if agendagidcurrent and (not gadice or agendagidcurrent == gadice): |
| global WriteSpoken = <function WriteSpoken>, gid = u'pg003-bk01', dtextmu = u'<h3 class="speaker"> <span class="name">Mr. Powl...hich small States were promised back in 1945.</p>', councilpresidentnation = None |
| /home/undemocracy/unparse-live/web2/unpvmeeting.py in WriteSpoken(gid=u'pg003-bk01', dtext=u'<h3 class="speaker"> <span class="name">Mr. Powl...hich small States were promised back in 1945.</p>', councilpresidentnation=None) |
| 69 print '</cite>' |
| 70 |
| 71 print dtext[mspek.end(0):] |
| 72 |
| 73 print '</div>' |
| dtext = u'<h3 class="speaker"> <span class="name">Mr. Powl...hich small States were promised back in 1945.</p>', mspek = <_sre.SRE_Match object>, mspek.end = <built-in method end of _sre.SRE_Match object> |
<type 'exceptions.UnicodeEncodeError'>: 'ascii' codec can't encode character u'\xe0' in position 861: ordinal not in range(128)
args =
('ascii', u'\n\t<p id="pg003-bk01-pa01">We have heard a consid...hich small States were promised back in 1945.</p>', 861, 862, 'ordinal not in range(128)')
encoding =
'ascii'
end =
862
message =
''
object =
u'\n\t<p id="pg003-bk01-pa01">We have heard a consid...hich small States were promised back in 1945.</p>'
reason =
'ordinal not in range(128)'
start =
861