Reaffirming its firm opposition to additional permanent seats in an enlarged United Nations Security Council, Pakistan has told a UN panel that those seeking permanent membership of the 15-nation body were doing so for power and privilege, not by the desire to promote international peace and security.
Speaking during the resumed Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) aimed at reforming the Security Council, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Munir Akram on Monday said that the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group was “not prepared” to accept the insistence by Group of Four – India, Brazil, Germany and Japan – for the creation of additional permanent membership for individual states.
On its part, the UfC, which is led by Italy and Pakistan, has been campaigning for more non-permanent seat on the Council to make it more efficient and representative. The Security Council is currently composed of five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – and 10 non-permanent members elected to serve for two years.
The Pakistani envoy said, if progress is to be made in the IGN process through such informal consultations, the essential requirement is greater flexibility in the positions of all parties – not innovations in this process. He maintained that the UfC has displayed the greatest flexibility and offered to modulate its position in attempts to promote consensus on the Council reform.
As regards UfC’s rationale for opposing the concept of permanent membership, Ambassador Akram said it violates the UN Charter principle of sovereign equality. “Most of us were not founding members (of UN). We did not contribute to the designation of 5 permanent members in the Charter. We cannot now agree to expand this inequality by creating additional permanent members and accepting a status which is less than for sovereign state,” he added.
Pointing out that the primary reason for the Security Council’s frequent failure to respond effectively to conflicts is the inability of its permanent members to agree on decisive action, the Pakistani envoy said adding more will multiply the Council’s paralysis. “The UfC’s proposal to add 11 non-permanent members will reduce inequality and enlarge the voice and influence of those States which are not involved in great power rivalries. This will add dynamism to the work of the Security Council,” he added.
