UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has reiterated its stance against adding more permanent members to the UN Security Council and has instead called for equitable representation by adding more elected members to the 15-member body.
Ambassador Aamir Khan, Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative, said there is common ground among member states regarding expanding seats in the non-permanent category.
He added that the proposal by Italy- and Pakistan-led Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group to add only non-permanent members, elected periodically by the General Assembly, is more democratic and consistent with the UN Charter’s prescription that the Security Council “acts on behalf” of the entire membership of the General Assembly.
The Security Council currently comprises five permanent members and ten non-permanent members elected to two-year terms. The UfC’s proposal is to add 10-11 seats for non-permanent membership, with one of those seats “floating” for the group of Small States and SIDS.
Pakistan has opposed the G-4 countries’ push for permanent seats, arguing that the concept of permanent membership violates the principle of sovereign equality. The Pakistani envoy said that most of the member states did not contribute to the designation of five permanent members in the UN Charter when the organization was established, and expanding this inequality by creating additional permanent members would be unacceptable.
He added that adding new permanent members would multiply the prospects of paralysis in the Council, and the UfC’s proposal to add 11 non-permanent members would reduce inequality and enlarge the voice and influence of those states that desire decisive action by the Security Council.
The envoy further argued that the addition of six permanent members, as proposed by G-4, would reduce the prospects for equitable representation on the Council, as 11 states would be permanently represented, and the other 182 member states would have to compete for election to the remaining 15 seats on the Council, tilting the balance of power and influence even more heavily towards the permanent members.
