General Assembly Session 54 meeting 85

The President

Before turning to the item on our agenda for this morning, may I, on behalf of all the members of the Assembly, extend deepest sympathy to the Government and the people of Venezuela for the tragic loss of life and extensive material damage that have resulted from the recent floods and mudslides.

May I also express the hope that the international community will show its solidarity and respond promptly and generously to any request for help by the Government and people of Venezuela.

Mr. Bivero (Venezuela)

I should simply like to say that the Government of Venezuela greatly appreciates the message of solidarity and sympathy that you, Mr. President, have just expressed on behalf of all the members of the General Assembly regarding the tragic losses suffered in my country. As you said, Sir, a very great tragedy has occurred in Venezuela as a result because of the persistent rains that have fallen throughout the year in the central part of the country, which, on 16 December, led to massive flooding and mudslides in the central mountain range, affecting densely populated regions, particularly the central coastal regions near the capital city and where the country's main airport and port are located.

From information being coordinated through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, it is estimated that over 150,000 people have been affected by that natural phenomenon, and an estimate of the number of deaths, which is still tentative, is over 2,000. The coordination effort for international assistance began immediately. We have received great evidence of solidarity from Member States, and I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one for the messages of solidarity and the material assistance and human resources that they have provided to help my country deal with the situation. Prolonged efforts will be required if we are to recover from the situation as it stands now. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has, through its warning mechanisms, conveyed the status of the situation, and we appeal to all friendly countries to remain in contact regarding the most pressing needs of international assistance.

Once again, I wish simply to express my sincere gratitude for the sympathy expressed today. Again, we want to thank all Member States for their solidarity and assistance in this tragic situation affecting my country.

Mr. Tomka (Slovakia)

Strengthening the Security Council, as well as enhancing its representativeness and credibility, remains the central task of any serious effort at reforming the United Nations. It is in no way a simple task. The inability of the Open-ended Working Group on Security Council reform to make any significant progress with regard to cluster 1 issues since January 1994, when its work began, proves the complexity of the issue, as well as the fundamental divergence of views, reflecting different national interests and different regional perceptions. While there is general agreement that the Security Council should be expanded and thus reflect the new political realities in the global scene, as well as the increase in the general membership during the last three decades, there is no convergence of views on which category of membership should actually be enlarged or on how such enlargement should take place.

It is quite obvious that the issue of permanent membership and the right of the veto lies at the core of the problem. If Member States were able to find common ground on this issue -- that is, agree on modalities for the enlargement of this category or agree not to increase that kind of membership -- we would be much closer to reaching a final formula for Security Council reform.

There are several risks related to a possible enlargement in the permanent membership category to which we should not turn a blind eye. In our view, some important facts have been overlooked in this regard. The category of permanent membership was not designed or intended by the United Nations Charter's authors to be based on the simple principle of equitable geographical representation. It has specific parameters, determined by the political circumstances of the new global order that emerged after the Second World War. The five permanent members were chosen on an ad hoc basis, as they were believed to have immense military and economic resources as well as the political will to take the lead in handling all matters of peace and security.

Though we may argue about the continuing relevance of this concept on the threshold of a new century, or about the actual capability and willingness of its current members to play the role envisaged for them by the United Nations Charter, it is a fact that by ignoring the nature of this concept we risk enlarging this category in a way which is incompatible with its unique parameters -- in other words, we might take the wrong approach, with unpredictable consequences for the functioning of an enlarged Security Council in the future.

The two-stage approach proposed by some, under which the General Assembly would as a first step decide to enlarge the permanent category by a specific number of seats, and then, at a later stage, make known the identity of the permanent members, is, in our view, the wrong approach. It is difficult to justify the act of signing a blank cheque without knowing to whom the check will be given.

I would like to point out that there has not yet been any serious discussion on clear criteria for selecting new permanent members. I believe that the determination of such criteria and their strict application are very important prerequisites if the parameters of this unique category are to be complied with and preserved. Otherwise, the continued existence of the permanent category might no longer make sense. We should not lose sight of this aspect, since even the criteria for the membership of non-permanent members, as is set out in Article 23 of the United Nations Charter, are not always treated seriously. As has become clear in recent years, geography has become more important than the actual contribution of the potential member to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the United Nations.

The regional aspects of the possible enlargement of the permanent category and the notion of regional rotational arrangements also have given rise to some concerns. Rotating permanent seats can hardly be considered permanent. In reality, they would be semi-permanent, provided that rotating members would have the right of veto. Without the veto power, this would simply create a new category of more frequently rotating non-permanent members, which might be interesting and worthy of further discussion. Nevertheless, this would be another item on the agenda of Security Council reform.

Potential new permanent members should be capable of assuming not only regional but also, and more importantly, global responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. There are a number of regional organizations dealing with the maintenance of international peace and security, but the United Nations is the only global forum to do so. Placing too much emphasis on regional aspects in connection with the permanent membership of the Security Council could lead to the fragmentation of the global character of this unique body.

In order to be fair, the veto power must be extended to potential new permanent members in order to avoid discrimination between the original permanent members and the new ones, since the veto is an essential element of permanent membership. However, the veto itself is a crucial issue in Security Council reform. Although originally designed to foster unity and promote the quest for an understanding among the great Powers, the veto turned out to be an oft-misused tool, both in the ideological battle among bitter rivals during the cold war and in the pursuit of narrow national interests. Even now, the veto and its latent threat sometimes paralyse the Security Council, preventing it from taking effective action on behalf of Member States. This could lead to the erosion of the authority of the Security Council and consequently of its central role in the maintenance of international peace and security.

It is very unlikely that a great number of the "owners" of the veto power would rectify the situation. I am afraid that, on the contrary, the Security Council might become a mere discussion club, unable to act swiftly and decisively. Moreover, the current scope of application of the veto raises a number of concerns of a legal nature. The rules of procedure of the Security Council have failed to clarify the scope of application of the veto in the last decades and therefore remain provisional.

Slovakia recognizes as legitimate the efforts to secure an adequate position in an enlarged Security Council made by certain countries which are capable of assuming global responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The aspirations of the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean region to ensure their appropriate representation in an enlarged Security Council are also fully understandable.

The core of the problem, in our view, is an increasingly different perception of the Council's legitimacy, which is affected, first, by the nature and composition of the Council and, secondly, by the degree to which Council's members are perceived to take into account in their deliberations the interests of other Member States. There is a growing suspicion on the part of Third World countries regarding what they perceive to be domination of the Security Council by the western Powers. It is they who, since at least 1979, have been in the forefront of a drive to increase their influence in the Council. Nevertheless, the strong competition among each of these continents for the proposed new permanent seats, the question of rotation and disagreements over the veto make it very unlikely that concrete results will be reached in the foreseeable future. As I have already suggested, a possible increase in the permanent category is interlinked with a number of concerns, and we should carefully consider their implications for the future functioning of a new Council.

We believe that in order to keep the United Nations abreast of our rapidly changing world, Security Council reform should focus on the issues on which we are most likely to find common ground. If there is no agreement on other categories of membership, Slovakia is ready to support, at this stage, expansion of the non-permanent category only. The size of the enlarged Security Council would then depend on the scenario eventually agreed to by Member States.

A considerable convergence of views has emerged on a number of issues concerning the working methods and transparency of the work of the Security Council, which are contained in cluster II. My country supports efforts aimed at improving the working methods and enhancing the transparency of the work of the Council. At the same time, the measures already adopted by the Council should be fully and effectively implemented. We also believe that the progress already made on cluster II issues should not be a hostage to the stalemate in cluster I.

In conclusion, let me express, on behalf of the delegation of Slovakia, our appreciation of the work of the Bureau of the Open-ended Working Group on Security Council reform, namely that of its former Chairman, Mr. Didier Opertti, and of the Vice-Chairmen of the Working Group, Ambassador Hans Dahlgren and Ambassador John de Saram, for the remarkable manner in which they conducted the discussions of the Working Group.

Mr. Samhan (United Arab Emirates)

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