Pakistan has told the UN General Assembly that the issue of the veto power, which gives the Security Council’s five permanent members disproportionate sway in matters of international peace and security, should be tackled as part of the 15-member body’s reform aimed at making it more effective.
Speaking in a debate on the use of the veto, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said the Security Council has often been paralyzed by the strategic rivalries of its permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — and the exercise of the veto.
“It comes as no surprise therefore, and past and recent experiences have confirmed that the abolition, or restraint on the use of veto, will have to be an integral part of the reform of the Security Council,” he added.
‘We note that their proposals are designed to re-invigorate the Charter functions of the General Assembly, and are not related to, or impinge upon the IGN’s (Inter-Governmental Negotiations’) consideration of Security Council reform.”
The 2022 Assembly’s resolution, adopted by consensus, calls for the General Assembly to automatically meet within 10 days if any of the five permanent members uses their right of veto.
The aim is to hold those countries accountable for exercising this special voting power, which allows them to block any Council resolution or decision. This right is enshrined in the UN Charter, the Organization’s founding document, because of their key roles in establishing the global body eight decades ago.
In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said that Pakistan – together with the UfC (Uniting for Consensus) Group – remains opposed to the creation of new permanent members on an expanded Security Council. “More permanent members and more vetoes will only aggravate the problem, and multiply the likelihood of paralysis or inaction by the Security Council.”he told the 193-member Assembly. “Let us be clear: The problem cannot be the solution,” the Pakistani envoy added.
Progress towards restructuring the Security Council remains blocked as the so-called Group of Four — India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — continue pushing for permanent seats.
As a compromise, UfC has proposed a new category of members — not permanent members — with longer duration in terms and a possibility to get re-elected.
Noting the negative power of the veto, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said this can be “balanced” by, on the one hand, placing restrictions on the use of the veto, and, on the other, enhancing the role of non-permanent members through larger and perhaps longer representation.
At the same time, the Pakistani envoy said that any measures to restrict or constrain the veto must be in line with the rules of the Charter.
“The final resolution of the issue of the veto will have to be found as an integral part of the reform of the Security Council,” Ambassador Asim Ahmad added.
Opening the debate, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock warned that repeated deadlock in the Security Council has become the “poster child” for wider global gridlock, undermining trust in multilateral institutions.
The UN was founded to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,” Ms. Baerbock said, but the world body is struggling to meet that mandate when the Council is blocked by a veto from one of its five permanent members.
“Real people, watching in real time, may question the credibility and legitimacy of not only the Security Council, but of the UN in its entirety,” she told Member States.
Ms Baerbock noted that the Council has been paralyzed on “the most devastating conflicts”, including crises discussed earlier in the week.