Daily Times

UNITED NATIONS: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Wednesday said Pakistan supported a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council to make it a more democratic, representative, transparent and accountable body.

“Bad reform is no reform. We don’t want to sign up for regression in the name of reform,” he told a ministerial-level meeting of Uniting for Consensus, which opposes additional permanent members in a restructured UN Security Council (UNSC). “An inclusive and transparent process within the framework of Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) was essential to that end. Anything less would be counter-productive, for the members know all too well that any divisive or non-consensual approaches with a view to artificially pace the process have only served to accentuate existing differences instead of bridging gaps in respective positions,” he said.

“The Security Council reform cannot become an instrument to further narrow self-serving interests of a few, who seek permanent seats at the expense of the wider UN membership,” Qureshi told the annual meeting held to review the stalled reform process and to chart a progressive way forward.

Full-scale negotiations to restructure the Security Council began in the General Assembly in February 2009. Despite a general agreement on enlarging the council, as part of the UN reform process, member states remain sharply divided over the details.

Known as the ‘Group of Four’, India, Brazil, Germany and Japan have shown no flexibility in their campaign to expand the Security Council by 10 seats, with six additional permanent and four non-permanent members.

On the other hand, Italy/Pakistan-led Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group say that additional permanent members will not make the Security Council more effective and also undermine the fundamental principle of democracy that is based on periodic elections.

The Security Council is currently composed of five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – and 10 non-permanent members.

Qureshi, in his remarks at the meeting held on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, said given its strategic importance for member states, it was imperative that all views and perspectives must be taken on board. Taking note of the principled position of the UfC for a more representative and democratic Security Council, he said only a solution that calibrated interests of all member states – small, medium and large – would be able to garner the widest support of the membership. Expressing satisfaction at the constructive role played by the UfC during the 72nd session of the General Assembly, the meeting undertook to broaden existing efforts with a view to gain further traction and support.

Earlier, talking to Indian media here in the city, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said “two sentences can worsen the situation” between India and Pakistan but he does not wish for the tensions to exacerbate. He said Pakistan desired peace and, therefore, wants improvements in the bilateral ties.

The foreign minister also held an unscheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump when he was officially welcomed to the UN headquarters in New York, wherein the latter reiterated his intention to ‘reset’ the US-Pakistan relations. The two leaders exchanged thoughts on resuming bilateral talks, with Qureshi noting that Trump’s approach seemed to be positive. He also held a discussion with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, although their official meeting is scheduled for October 2.

Separately, he met his counterparts from Turkey, China, Japan, Nepal, Switzerland, and Qatar. With the Qatari foreign minister, Qureshi talked about bolstering the two-way relations and, in response, Doha offered to provide 100,000 job opportunities to skilled Pakistani workers.

Published in Daily Times, September 27^th 2018.