Written Answers. - UN Security Council.
Pat Rabbitte
Question:
26
Mr. Rabbitte
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
if he considers the present structure of the Security Council of the United Nations to be satisfactory, particularly with regard to the permanent members which include three European States but no developing country or any country from the Southern Hemisphere; if he intends to bring forward any proposals for reform of the UN; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The provisions of the United Nations Charter relating to permanent membership of the Security Council were agreed after World War II. Since the end of the Cold War, a virtual consensus has emerged in support of the view that the new climate in international relations and the many demands being placed on the Organisation require a critical examination of the structures of the United Nations. It is generally accepted that the United Nations must develop and adapt to current international realities if it is to deal effectively with the many challenges it now has to confront.
The Secretary-General's 1992 report entitled "Agenda for Peace", which addressed the issues of preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peacekeeping, was one important response to the changes that have taken place in the international political landscape. A number of measures of institutional reform have already been proposed and in some instances implemented. The Secretary-General, for example, has launched a reorganisation of the UN Secretariat and a thorough examination of the role of the General Assembly is in progress.
Against this background, the question of Security Council reform has become the focus of considerable attention over the past year or so. More than 40 countries, including Ireland, addressed the issue during the General Assembly debate of last year. The discussion has been taken up in the Special Committee on the Charter, which met in March, and will continue at the autumn session of the General Assembly. We support the principle of reform and are an active participant in the debate now underway.
It is important however to recall that any proposal to alter the existing membership arrangements of the Security Council would require a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly and the support of the five permanent members of the Council. It is essential therefore that proposals in this area be able to command widespread support if they are to have a realistic prospect of succeeding.
With that requirement in mind, we have already proposed in the Special Committee on the Charter that the debate should proceed on the basis that the process of reform must aim to ensure that: the Security Council is genuinely representative of the UN membership as a whole; its authority and the legitimatacy, of its decisions are universally respected, and its effectiveness is not impaired.
In view of the importance of the issue, we will continue to follow the debate closely and to consider more specific proposals at the appropriate time.
