General Assembly Official Records Sixty-First Session
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United Nations A/61/PV.73 General Assembly Official Records Sixty-first session 73rd plenary meeting Monday, 11 December 2006, 3 p.m. New York President: Ms. Al-Khalifa ................................... (Bahrain) In the absence of the President, Mr. Butagira We have stated many times, while knowing that (Uganda), Vice-President, took the Chair. there is no perfect solution in view, why we support the concept of the Group of Four (G4): expanding the The meeting was called to order at 3.15 p.m. Council to 25 members in both categories, permanent and non-permanent, with the inclusion of developing Agenda items 9 and 111 (continued) countries in both. Any expansion and restructuring of the Council must include permanent seats for Africa, Report of the Security Council (A/61/2) Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean so that the Question of equitable representation on and increase concerns of the developing countries can be addressed. in the membership of the Security Council and While we continue to support last year’s draft related matters resolution submitted by the G4, we are aware that new Mr. Palouš (Czech Republic): At the Millennium ideas have emerged and that the call for an interim Summit in September 2005, world leaders rightly solution might gain ground. Although we believe that pledged to enhance the relevance, effectiveness, the G4 concept still provides us with the most realistic efficiency, accountability and credibility of the United way to reform the Council, we are open to discussing Nations system. Today’s United Nations is doing much the new ideas with an open mind. more than the United Nations of some 20 years ago. As we consider expanding the Security Council, The challenge, both for the United Nations and for us, we should not overlook reform of its working methods. the Member States, is to ensure that the demands of the Among the many options for achieving that is the United Nations are met rapidly and efficiently. That proposal submitted by the group of five small nations. requires reform of the United Nations — mostly reform While that proposal is well intentioned, we continue to of its management structure. However, United Nations doubt its practicality and comprehensiveness, because reform cannot take place without reform of the we believe that reform of the Council’s working Security Council. methods should go hand in hand with structural reform It is a well-known fact that expansion of the main of the Council itself. United Nations peace and security body has proved to I wish to reiterate that my country has no vested be a highly sensitive and difficult issue. It will not be interest in reform, other than our desire for better an easy endeavour in the future, either. However, we functioning and greater authority of the Council. That all agree that it is more than necessary. That is why, is why we call for action to overcome the current instead of doubting, we should begin to act now, deadlock. without further delay. This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-154A. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum. 06-65194 (E) *0665194* A/61/PV.73 Mr. Urbina (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): I of the historical evolution of the last 60 years. The would like to begin by thanking the President of the fundamental guide in expanding the number of Council Security Council, the Permanent Representative the members should not be simply the economic State of Qatar, Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz contribution of those who contribute the most, or the Al-Nasser, for the work that he has been doing in the responsibilities that some States have in peacekeeping. Council and also for presenting the report on the In addition, and above all, increasing the number of Council’s activities to the General Assembly (A/61/2). members on the Security Council should respond to the necessary representation of the interests of the poorest My delegation has awaited this report of the sectors of mankind, of those who have less access to Security Council with particular interest, because it is the benefits to scientific and technological progress, the first that was to reflect the will expressed by the those who suffer the most from hunger and from war, heads of State and Government of our countries during and those who pay most dearly for the deterioration of the 2005 World Summit. In particular, Costa Rica our planet. hoped to see how the mandate to improve the accountability of the Security Council to the General Increasing the number of permanent members is a Assembly would be fulfilled. We hoped to see complex topic and could have consequences that we do substantial progress in this area. not want. In June 2005, the delegation of Costa Rica circulated a study that proves without any doubt that But when we study this report, we are forced to those who are permanent members of the Security observe that the improvement that we expected has not Council not only hold the most powerful positions taken place. The report we are discussing today serves within the Organization but also convert themselves the interests of the Security Council, but does not into permanent members of the most important bodies contain the answers that the General Assembly has and subsidiary organs of the system. We are deeply been asking for. concerned that, in expanding the category of permanent With respect to our debate last year on this same members of the Council, we could restrict in that way item, we hoped as well that we would resume the the number of seats available for other States in the practice of convening a meeting of the Security organs and subsidiary bodies of the system. Council for an in-depth discussion of its annual work Thus we believe that before we discuss the and to approve the report. Regrettably, that has not possible increase in the number of permanent taken place either. It is crucial that the 2002 members, we should discuss seriously the measures experience — convening a meeting of the Council to and guarantees that would prevent that dangerous discuss its work — be taken up as a practice that can snowball effect, which has been evident so far. Further only enrich all of us and effectively benefit our restricting access to the principal organs of the system peoples. I would like to recall that that gratifying and its subsidiary bodies could only result in experience took place thanks to the insistence of the weakening the sense of belonging on the part of many delegation of Singapore, which was then a member of of those excluded, to the detriment of the international the Security Council. With the same purpose of legitimacy of the United Nations. increasing the effectiveness, transparency, responsibility and accountability of the Council, Costa We would like to reiterate that for us it is crucial Rica today joins with Singapore, Jordan, Liechtenstein to make major efforts to substantially improve the and Switzerland in the group of five small nations — working methods of the Security Council. It is in the “Small Five”. improving these methods that we find the answers to the most important questions that weigh on the Council Our position with respect to United Nations and that bear on the effectiveness of the work of the reform in general and that of the Security Council in Organization itself. In order to have a Security Council particular is well known. However, we take this that has greater legitimacy and that better meets the opportunity to highlight a few points. concerns of Member States and of international public I begin by saying that for Costa Rica, the theme opinion, our efforts should focus primarily on of raising the number of members of the Security improving the Council’s working methods. Council is important only as a mechanism to restore the geographic representation that we lost in the light 2 06-65194 A/61/PV.73 In this respect, we believe that the work done by paragraph 3, of the Charter — whenever the Council the Security Council Informal Working Group on decides to establish a new peacekeeping operation or Documentation is a very valuable step in the right substantially alter the mandate of such operations or direction. We would like to acknowledge the work of sets up new sanctions regimes. Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, Permanent Representative We also believe that the Security Council must of Japan, whose leadership was decisive in this task. provide the General Assembly with a report whenever We would also like to see the effective implementation a draft resolution is vetoed. That is especially of the recommendations of this Working Group, important in the world in which we live in today. Our recommendations that for us represent a starting point, action or lack of action can be perceived immediately not a destination. in all corners of the Earth. In this age of information, We believe that there is still much left to be done we cannot fail to have the necessary political will to to restore the prestige of the Organization and to achieve fluid, effective and thorough communication improve the legitimacy of its decisions. Although many among all protagonists in the United Nations system. say that they do not understand what we are referring We have many concerns.