STATEMENT BY H.E. Ms. ENKHTSETSEG OCHIR,
PERMANENT
REPRESENTATIVE OF
On item 122: THE QUESTION OF EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION ON AND INCREASE IN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL AND RELATED MATTERS
14 November 2007
Mr.
President,
I
am taking the floor today to express my Government’s position on the
issue of
structural reform of the Security Council.
Mr.
President,
My
country believes in a just and equitable expansion of the Security
Council in both
its permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, ensuring due
representation of both developing and developed countries.
Expansion
in the permanent members’ category should address the dichotomy in the
composition of the Council and the geopolitical realities of the day.
Factors
such as global outreach of a country, its economic and political weight
must
therefore be taken into consideration. Permanent membership, after all,
is not
only a privilege; it is also a heavy responsibility.
My
delegation supports creation of additional non-permanent seats that
would
reflect the changes in the membership of the Organization over the last
decades,
and give small states better possibilities to serve on the Council. In
the same
vein, my delegation does not support proposals to amend Article 23 of
the
Charter. The provision that retiring members of the Security Council
shall not
be eligible for immediate re-election has been instrumental in ensuring
rotation
of Council members and election of more countries to the Council than
otherwise
would have been the case. Needless to say, smaller states have been the
main
beneficiary of this rule.
I
would like to add that we find objectionable any proposals that
entertain ideas
of establishing a third tier of membership in the Security Council. We
believe
that it would result in devaluation of the role and sidelining of the
existing
non-permanent members’ category and is not, as such, in the best
interest of
small states.
Mr.
President,
Improving
of working methods of the Security Council is an essential element of
the
reform process and one that is of particular significance for the
majority of
Member States. My delegation notes in this respect
the work of the Informal Working Group on Documentation
and Other
Procedural Questions to
improve the working methods of the Security Council. Increased transparency, openness of the
Council’s work
as well as better access for States not members and enhanced
accountability to
the membership can only enhance the authority of the Council and
augment the
legitimacy of its decisions.
Mr.
President,
Our
deliberations over the years have revealed that all Member States share
a view
that no
reform effort of the United Nations is complete without the Security
Council
reform. Another point of universal convergence happens to be the
necessity to
make progress on the Security Council reform track, as everyone agrees
that the
current status quo in unacceptable.
I
take this opportunity to commend your predecessor H.E. Haya Rasheda
Al-Khalifa,
President of the 61st session of the General Assembly, for
her
remarkable leadership in steering the work of the General Assembly in
moving
forward this vital reform dimension. Indeed, her efforts and those of
the
Facilitators, were instrumental in generating a unique momentum that
has
carried over to this session as exemplified by the number of
delegations that
are taking the floor in this debate.
The last session of the General
Assembly was marked by an extensive process of consultations that
allowed
delegations to engage in focused exchange of views on every aspect of
the
Security Council reform. But ever more
importantly, this process resulted in adoption by the General Assembly of a resolution in
which it
decided that the question of Security Council reform should be
considered
during the current session of the General Assembly, so that further
concrete
results may be achieved, including through intergovernmental
negotiations,
building on the progress achieved so far, particularly at the 61st
session, as well as the positions of and proposals made by Member
States.
My
delegation takes the current debate as a beginning of the process that
should
yield concrete results over the course of this session. We look forward
to hearing
your suggestions and proposals on the way to proceed.
Rest
assured, Excellency, that my delegation shall spare no effort to assist
you in your
efforts.
I thank you.