Simon Coveney
Question:95 Mr. Coveney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the five permanent members of the UN Security Council will block plans for reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18625/05]
View answerThursday, 2 June 2005
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The UN Secretary General has put forward a wide-ranging set of proposals for UN reform which it is hoped will be adopted at a summit level meeting to take place in New York in September. A small number of reforms will require amendment of the UN Charter. The most significant of these is the proposed expansion of the Security Council.
Article 108 of the charter states that an amendment to the charter must be adopted by a vote of two thirds of the members of the General Assembly and ratified, in accordance with their respective constitutional processes, by two thirds of the members, including by all the permanent members of the Security Council. It is therefore possible for a permanent member to prevent a change in the charter from coming into force. The permanent members of the Council are, like all 191 members of the United Nations, taking part in the preparatory process ahead of next September's crucial summit at the United Nations.
The House will be aware that, at the summit, Heads of State and Government will seek to agree on reforms that will strengthen the system of collective security, to restore momentum to the achievement of the millennium development goals, to enhance the human rights function of the United Nations, and to reform its institutions and management structures. The House will be equally aware that it is a central priority for the Government to do what it can to promote the success of the summit.
Discussions on Security Council reform are ongoing, and it would not be appropriate for me, particularly in light of my role as envoy of the Secretary General, to comment on the position of individual states. While the issue of Security Council reform is important, it should not, in the Government's view, overshadow other very important aspects of the reform agenda.