NAM Security Council Reform

Statement by Ambassador Asoke K Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations at the Informal Plenary Meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on \'Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council' on March 19, 2014

( 19 March 2014,  Time: 1000 hrs, Venue: Trusteeship Council )

Mr. Chairman,

1.Thank you for convening today\'s meeting of the Informal Plenary of the IGN on the second cluster of the "question of veto".   Thank you also for granting our request to circulate the text of your opening statement to Member-States.

 

2.We are heartened to note the pace and frequency at which we are meeting now, something which befits the urgency of the subject matter at hand and hope that you will continue this momentum in the subsequent sessions as well.

 

3.I would first like to align my position with the statements delivered by the distinguished PR of St. Lucia on behalf of the L.69 Group of Developing Countries, as well as the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Germany on behalf of the G4.  We note with deep appreciation the reiteration of the distinguished PR of Sierra Leone that the position of the Africa Group and the L69 are the same on the need to expand both categories of membership (permanent & non-permanent) and the veto.

 

4.Mr. Chair, the debate on this subject touches at the very heart of the creation of the United Nations and the concept of equality of nations.

 

5.This body of ours was supposed to be the "Parliament of Man" where each member state was to have an equal voice, an equal stature and an equal stake in determining the collective goodwill of mankind.

 

6.But the world of realpolitik took over, as it mostly does, and determined the governing architecture of this Parliament of Man, and we therefore had a practice following the second world war, that bestowed a privilege, which was put to use to secure the interests of the allied powers, as and when it suited their interests.

 

7.We, as a founder member of this organization, having contributed substantially to the victory of the Allied forces in 1945, are committed to peaceful dialogue as the best guarantor for sustainable international peace and security.  We, therefore, believe that there would be and, indeed, there should be, much less scope for the use of the veto in addressing issues relating to the maintenance of international peace and security.

 

8.We also underscore that even if it has to be used, a far greater play to the use of effective and inclusive diplomacy could, perhaps, avoid its usage. Like the death penalty, the veto should be exercised in the rarest of the rare cases.

 

9.In the view of my delegation, it is important that the new permanent members should have the same responsibilities and obligations as the current permanent members, including the right of veto, as devoiding them of this right, would only create a new tier of second class citizenship within the Council.

 

10.Having said that Mr. President, let me also emphasise that there is an urgent need to arrive at a solution on this subject, as we simply cannot allow the veto to have a veto power over the process of Council reform itself.

 

11.The Indian delegation remains committed to working with you in ensuring the success of this round of the IGN, and we are one of those, who count on your leadership and look forward to receiving your assessment on the way forward at the end of these six rounds.

 

I thank you Mr. President.

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