At the
UN, Pakistan’s voiced its firm opposition to the creation of new permanent
seats in any reformed Security Council, says a press release received here today from New York.
Speaking in a debate in the General
Assembly on Security Council reform, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Dr
Maleeha Lodhi reiterated Pakistan’s position on representation to the Council,
saying that additional permanent seats were contrary to the universally agreed
principles of democracy, accountability and transparency.
“After all, permanent membership
remains at the core of much that is flawed about the existing Security
Council”, she remarked and added, “It is therefore, counter-intuitive to us
that an expansion in the Council could be advocated as a means to address its
inherent dysfunctionalities”.
Drawing the attention of the 193
member General Assembly to the growing and complex challenges to global peace
and security, Ambassador Lodhi said that this warrants firm and clear action by
the Security Council. An enlarged permanent membership, operating on the basis
of the least common denominator, she said, would erode the standing of the
Council, not strengthen its role, as some argue.
“An enlarged permanent membership of
the Security Council would also compromise its efficiency and
effectiveness”, she added.
The Pakistani envoy criticized the
position taken by a handful of countries demanding a permanent seat in the
Security Council saying that these states seek a privileged and unequal status
for themselves, anchored in power politics, which is in sharp
contradiction to the democratic spirit of our times.
“Even more telling, while they
remain firmly wedded to their own positions, they ask others to be flexible”,
she commented.
She argued that it is not a lack of
will on the part of the many, but a lack of will
on the part of a few, that remains the most persistent stumbling
block in the way of achieving a more representative, transparent, accountable and
effective reform of the Security Council.
Ambassador Lodhi argued for an
expansion in the non-permanent category of membership, based on equitable
geographic distribution and a system of fair rotation and said that this
solution was both fair and just, and was supported by all member states and
groups. “This should serve as a natural point of departure for any reform of
the Council”, she added.
Ambassador Lodhi justified the
position taken by the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, of which Pakistan is a
member, saying that the UfC has calibrated its position to reflect the
interests and aspirations of all member states - small, medium-sized and
large. “It is time for others to show the same spirit of compromise and
flexibility”, she commented.
On the issue of regional
representation, Ambassador Lodhi said, “We fully respect the Common
African Position, which voices the demand of an entire continent, and see this
as inherently different from the demand for permanent seats in pursuit of
narrow national ambitions”.
Ambassador Lodhi concluded by
reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment towards a comprehensive reform of the
Security Council saying that anything less would be a great disservice to the
United Nations and the inspiring vision that it espouses for our collective
humanity.