| Statement by New York, 20 July 2006 Mr. President,
I also wish to thank you, Mr. President, for convening this debate under the two agenda items, and for all the work and consultations you have conducted to ensure that the process fulfils the desired objectives. The United Nations is full of agenda items that have been in focus for considerable periods of time. This is one of the longest, most intricate and most important of them. We have been discussing this issue with great intensity for a long time, and my delegation is concerned that our efforts have not resulted in much progress. Mr. President, It is well-known that Indonesia strongly advocates comprehensive reform of the Security Council for the sole objective of making it more representative, efficient, transparent and accountable. It would be recalled that last September, world leaders also endorsed the early realization of this objective. We believe that this reform will strengthen the Council and enhance its legitimacy and credibility, which are important factors in mobilizing Member States in the implementation of its decisions. In this intervention, we would like to focus on the methods of work of the Council. This part of the comprehensive reform of the Council is equally significant, and deserves the same attention as the issue of the expansion of Security Council membership. My delegation believes that while the question of representation on the Council is of the greatest importance, we must keep in mind at all times why they are important. It is to ensure that the Council which emerges in the cause of the reform process carries with it the credibility of the entire international community by becoming more efficient, transparent and accountable. In the past, regrettably, the methods that the Council sometimes adopted in its work, such as unscheduled debates, selective notification to some debates, and the reluctance to discuss certain issues in open debates, have lefi many Member States with a lot of questions. Mr. President, We feel that these flaws need to be corrected, and can be corrected. My delegation believes that the ability
of the Security Council to maintain international peace and security
would be strengthened if it encouraged greater participation and contributions
on the part of Member States in its work. To this end, we note that
the Council is currently taking steps to address the concerns of Member
States on this issue. Indeed, there is no doubt that the credibility of the Council will be further strengthened if it also engages in regular, substantive exchange of views with the other major organs, particularly the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Along with consultations between Council members and non-members, this would deeply enrich the pool of information and ideas that the Council can tap into in its decision-making. We also share the view that briefings by Special Envoys or Representatives of the Secretary-General or the Committees of the Council should take place, as much as possible, in an open format. Mr. President, The principal business of the Council being the maintenance of international peace and security, we believe that it serves the Council best also to strengthen its relationship with troop-contributors through regular interaction, rather than during the crush of mission planning or mandate-negotiation. Such interaction, needless to say, would also be helpful in the necessary transitions that often occur in the life of a peacekeeping mission. With reference to the substance of the Council’s discussions, I would like to reiterate the necessity for the Council to keep within the purview of its Charter mandate. It must scrupulously avoid the temptation to address thematic issues, as those belonging within the purview of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Furthermore, Mr. President, in the interest of accountability and the spirit of The Charter, my delegation would like to reiterate its concern about the quality of the annual report of the Council to the General Assembly. For many years, many delegations, including mine, have indicated their desire for a report with more depth, information and analysis. Regrettably, this desire has been ignored, and the report of the Security Council has continued to be not more than information and statistics that most delegations already possess, or do not need. The objective of the annual report should not be treated as a bureaucratic formality for one simple reason: neither the business of the General Assembly, nor the maintenance of international peace and security, is a formality. Finally, I wish to underline the concern of my delegation concerning the process of the selection of the Secretary-General. Few other issues can reflect the commitment of any Member States to true reform of the Organization than transparency in the selection of the principal officer. To this extent, Member States would like to see the efforts of the Council to increase the transparency of this process, as well as a bigger role for the General Assembly. Thank you.
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