Pakistan opposes new permanent seats in UNSC

Islamabad – Pakistan has opposed the creation of new permanent seats in the 15-member UN Security Council during the two-day UN General Assembly debate on Security Council reform.

“There should be no new centres of privilege,” Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Masood Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to UN, as telling the 193-member assembly in the course of the debate that concluded Friday and in which some 80 delegations took part.

Khan said as a member of the Uniting for Consensus Pakistan opposed in principle the notion of new individual permanent seats because it runs counter to the avowed reform objectives of transparency, democratisation and inclusive decision-making at the UN.

Pakistan advocates and supports a compromise proposal that will aggregate and reflect the interests of all members of the UN – small, medium-sized and large – as well as regional organisations.

The intended reform must plan for a dynamic future, not entrench or replicate historical patterns based on prerogatives and privileges, Khan added.

The Pakistani Ambassador said the Group of Four countries (G-4) – Brazil, India, Germany and Japan – who are pushing for permanent seats on the council were trying to foist their position on the membership as a fait accompli.

“Their position is anchored in power politics. They seem to be saying that because of their political stature and economic prowess they now qualify to have a special status at the United Nations whereas other UN members do not,” Khan said.

The G-4 complained in the General Assembly debate about the slow pace of reform in the Security Council.

They called on the president of the General Assembly to accelerate negotiations that could lead to a decision on permanent seats.

The reform process started in 1993 but despite assurances from the US, Britain and France — three permanent members of the existing council — there has been no progress on the permanent seats.