Pakistan has called for reforms to the veto mechanism of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to end the 15-member body’s “institutional paralysis” and make it more effective and equitable.
“The misuse of the veto undermines the Security Council’s effectiveness and the credibility of the UN, while giving the permanent five [US, Russia, China, France and UK] unmatched influence throughout the UN system,” Gul Qaiser Sarwani, Counsellor/Political Coordinator at the Pakistan Mission, told the UN General Assembly on Monday.
During a debate on use of the veto, representatives reiterated calls to restructure the UNSC to make it more responsive to its primary role of maintaining international peace and security.
The UNGA had convened in line with resolution 76/262, adopted in April 2022, which mandates it to hold a session within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the UNSC.
With the campaign of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan for permanent seats on the Council in mind, Sarwani, a counsellor and political coordinator in the Pakistan mission to the UN, said more permanent members and more vetoes would deepen existing inequalities, perpetuate historical privileges, create new centres of power and increase the risk of institutional paralysis.
“Let us be clear: the problems cannot be the solution,” he said, highlighting that Pakistan/Italy-led Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group remains opposed to the addition of any new individual permanent member on an expanded Security Council.
“We believe that the veto should be abolished or at least severely restricted; It must not be expanded,” Sarwani said.
Pakistan, he said, supported resolution 76/262, saying any measures to restrict or restrain the use of the veto must be consistent with the UN Charter provisions.
Regarding the negative power of the veto to “block”, Sarwani said Pakistan believes that this can be better balanced by placing restrictions on the use of the veto or by enhancing the number and role of the elected members of the Council through larger representation and thereby changing the threshold for approval of decisions by the Council — to make it more democratic and to serve as an effective check on the use of veto.
Opening the meeting, UNGA’s Bangladeshi President Khalilur Rahman said that, with 21 such meetings convened as part of the veto initiative, the “mechanism has become an established expression of transparency, accountability and collective responsibility within our organisation”.
He commended the UNSC for its timely special reports to the General Assembly and its permanent members’ participation in these debates, noting that humanity is best served when both organs “operate in balance, each fulfilling its distinct yet complementary responsibilities under the Charter”.
Noting that the Security Council’s effectiveness directly impacts people living in conflict, insecurity and humanitarian suffering, he said the cost is borne “first and foremost by those most affected by violence and instability” when the body does not act definitively.
“It is my hope that the Council will find the consensus needed to act decisively in the service of peace — and that the veto initiative will be needed less often,” he said, urging related debates to not become repetitive exercises, but help keep dialogue alive.
“Let us reaffirm that no veto should bring an end to dialogue and diplomacy and that the principles of the Charter must continue to guide our collective search for peace,” Rahman said.
In the ensuing debate, delegates highlighted the present and potential pitfalls of a veto-laden Security Council with its implications in regions and territories far from the location where the decision is taken. –Agencies
