Statement delivered by His Excellency Mr. Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Guyana on behalf of the Member States of CARICOM at the Informal Meeting of the General Assembly on the Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Council
Distinguished Co-Chairs,
I take the floor on behalf of the 14 Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). CARICOM’s main objective at the current stage is to urgently advance the agenda on the reform of the Security Council. It therefore welcomes this new opportunity for Member States to exchange views on how to take the process forward. We wish to acknowledge the efforts of the distinguished Co-Chairs thus far and to thank you in particular for the timetable that you provided in your letter to the PGA of 21 February 2017. You can be assured of CARICOM’s support and, as always, we will continue to constructively engage in the process.
Before addressing the issues that are the subject of today’s meeting, allow me to make two brief observations that CARICOM believes must be reiterated in order to add context to our contribution.
First, CARICOM remains convinced that greater value could be derived from our deliberations at these meetings if the ideas, proposals and demands expressed by Member States were used to catapult the process to its next logical step, which is the start of text-based negotiations. For more than two decades, Member States have been ventilating their positions on the issues but have not been given the opportunity to negotiate those positions even though a large majority of us continue to demand the start of real negotiations. In Decision 62/557, the General Assembly decided that ‘’the positions and proposals of Member States, regional groups and other Member States groupings [would] form the basis for the intergovernmental negotiations.’’ Given that positions and proposals have already been elaborated, the membership has already provided the platform upon which the negotiations should start and arguments to the contrary raise questions about the commitment of some countries to the reform agenda. In this connection, CARICOM is of the view that in the interest of transparency, which is so vital to the reform process, it would be appropriate for you to apprise Member States of your plans with respect to an outcome document for the current session. It is important for Member States to understand exactly where we are headed during this session so that we do not operate in a vacuum.
Second, CARICOM does not support the position that a number of pre-conditions must be met before negotiations on a text could begin. The suggestion that there must first be some sort of general consensus among Member States on an issue before it could be negotiated would set a dangerous precedent. Nothing could be further from the truth and, in fact, there is ample evidence to demonstrate that UN processes simply do not operate in this way and cannot evolve under such an approach.
Distinguished Co-Chairs,
It is in this broader context that CARICOM again shares its positions on the outstanding three issues not covered in the Elements of Convergence Paper. We wish to emphasize that our participation in today’s engagement is with the expectation that Member States will be presented with a zero draft on the issues discussed in order to facilitate a real negotiation. Anything less would be a colossal waste of time.
On the question of categories of membership, CARICOM supports the expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent categories. We favour a configuration that gives developing countries in general equitable representation on a reformed Council and we support Africa’s aspiration to membership of both the permanent and non-permanent categories.
CARICOM also shares the view that we should retain the current system of electing non-permanent members of the Council.
Distinguished Co-Chairs,
CARICOM’s position on the categories of membership is premised on the view that a reformed Security Council has to be reflective of the current membership of the United Nations and of the evolving geo-political realities of 21st century world. This is key to the maintenance of international peace and security and all States, including developing States, have an indispensable role to play in this process and must be given the opportunity to adequately contribute to it. We therefore do not share the view that creating longer-term, but nonetheless, non-permanent seats will adequately address the imbalance that currently exists on the Security Council. In fact, such an approach would only perpetuate that imbalance. The only viable solution, as expressed by the wider membership, is to expand both the permanent and non-permanent categories with a view to ensuring equity and representivity.
On the question of regional representation, CARICOM supports expanded permanent representation for Africa, Asia, GRULAC, and WEOG as well as expanded non-permanent representation for Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and GRULAC. We also support the creation of a rotating non-permanent seat for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) across all regions. At this stage, CARICOM is reserving its position on the numerical size of a reformed Council even though we are broadly supportive of an increase in the mid to upper twenties.
Finally, on the question of the veto, CARICOM ideally favours its abolition. However, as long as it is retained, we propose that this right be extended to all new Permanent Members without distinction. CARICOM further proposes to include a qualification to the veto right and would forbid its use in certain circumstances including war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and other grave violations of international humanitarian law. We wish to reiterate, nonetheless, that our preference is for the ultimate abolition of the veto.
Distinguished Co-Chairs,
CARICOM thanks you once again for organizing this second session of the IGN. We are confident that under your leadership the expressed wishes of the wider membership will be respected. We reiterate our commitment to urgent reform and we remain supportive of every genuine effort in this regard.
I thank you.