Statement by
Ambassador Rezlan Ishar Jenie
Permanent Representative of the Republic of
Indonesia to the United Nations
before the General Assembly
on agenda item 9:
Report of the Security Council
and
on Agenda item 117 :
Question of Equitable Representation on and increase in the membership
of the Security Council and Related Matters
New York, 10 October 2005
Mr. President,
My delegation is once again pleased
to welcome the Report of the Security Council to the General Assembly
contained in document A/60/2. The objective of this annual report
is to offer Member States a summary of the work of the Council in
the preceding year pertaining to its mandate area of the maintenance
of international peace and security.
In view of the importance of this report, this meeting continues to
a good opportunity for us to review the work of the Council. For this
reason, we are grateful to the members of the Council for their report,
and to the General Assembly for this opportunity to make a contribution
to the debate.
As we all know, this meeting also
considers the annual “Report of the Open-Ended Working Group
on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the
Membership of the Security Council and related Matters” (A/59/47).
On behalf of my delegation, I would like to express my appreciation
to the President of the 59th session of the General Assembly, H.E.
Jean Ping of Gabon, for his active role as chair of the Working Group
and his determined efforts throughout the session to move the issues
forward.
We would also like to thank the Vice-Chairpersons, Ambassadors Paulette
Bethel (Bahamas) and Christian Wenaweser (Liechtenstein) for their
diligence and hard work in the service of the Working Group.
Mr. President,
The report of the Security Council provides a useful outline of its
work throughout the period under consideration, clearly demonstrating
an upward trend in the scope and volume of the Council’s activities.
Among the focus here are the conflicts in several areas of Africa,
the situation in the Middle East, and terrorism.
We are grateful to the members of the Council for their attention
to these issues and many others. Unfortunately, we must observe that
the report is still far too much of a compendium, and not enough of
a report. It tells us everything we already know about the Council
or everything a delegation can learn by itself without even being
a member, but says absolutely nothing about how or why certain decisions
or courses of action were preferred over others.
For many years, delegations have called on the Security Council to
ensure that its report provide an analysis that fulfils this need.
Until this happens, the annual report can only have a rather limited
value, and we urge the Council to pay attention to this issue. Our
suggestion is that it should set clear guidelines to guide each annual
analysis of its work. Such guidelines will prevent the analysis process
from requiring protracted annual negotiations before it can be prepared
for the benefit of Member States.
On this question, it is instructive that the “Report of the
Open-Ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation
on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and related
Matters” also reflects the concern of delegations that the Security
Council report should be “factual, comprehensive, substantive
and analytical.”
Despite these concerns Mr. President, we commend the Council for its
work on peace and security issues throughout the period, particularly
in peacekeeping, conflict resolution and terrorism.
Mr. President,
Let me turn now to the Report of the Open-Ended Working Group. It
is significant to note that there is provisional agreement on items
under cluster II, which deals with methods of work. It is a matter
of concern that we have yet to make much substantive progress on the
substantive issues since the Working Group began its assignment about
11 years ago.
My delegation would like to reiterate its position that enhancing
the effectiveness of the United Nations demands a strong and active
relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly,
and indeed, between all the organs. The Outcome Document of the World
Summit makes this point when it states that “in order to efficiently
perform their respective mandates as provided under the Charter, United
Nations bodies should develop good cooperation and coordination in
the common endeavor of building a more effective United Nations.”
The Security Council is further called upon to adapt its methods of
work in order to increase the involvement of non-Members in its work.
On the issue of accountability, particularly
the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly,
my delegation is concerned over the gradual encroachment by the Council
on the powers and mandate of the General Assembly. Thus, the Council
should refrain from addressing thematic issues, since those are under
the purview of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Indeed,
there should be a clear demarcation of the respective fields of competence
of the Assembly and the Council, and consultations between the Presidents
of these main organs should be institutionalized as soon as possible.
Furthermore, my delegation holds that the Security Council ought to
convene more formal meetings on specific issues being discussed in
order that it might learn and be enriched by the views of interested
parties.
The report of the Working Group also underlines the desire of troop-contributing
countries to enjoy stronger involvement in the decision-making processes
of the Council, including the early stages of mission-planning. We
share this position because it will enhance unity among the parties
in the peacekeeping process. With reference to the use of sanctions,
we reiterate our position that they should be used only as a last
resort and after other means available to the Council have been exhausted.
Turning to the issue of subsidiary organs, our position is that their
work should be more accessible to Member States in general, and the
use of such organs in general also curtailed.
Mr. President,
Indonesia has always supported a comprehensive approach to UN reform,
and will continue to do so. This exercise is overdue, and it is heartwarming
that at the World Summit, the Heads of State and Government offered
their support for early reform of the Council as an essential element
of the effort to reform the Organization to make it more broadly representative,
efficient and transparent and thus to further enhance its effectiveness
and the legitimacy and implementation of its decisions. They also
committed to a process that would achieve a decision to this end by
the end of 2005 .
It is our expectation that the reform of the Council will help to
strengthen the body and take care of these concerns by providing accountability,
transparency, and representativeness. In this connection, my delegation
takes note of the draft resolution proposed by the delegation of Costa
Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland. It is our
hope that you, Mr. President, would be able to conduct further consultations
on this matter and to reach the widest acceptable compromise by member
states.
In the light of these issues, my delegation believes that there is
an urgent need for the members of the Security Council, particularly
the permanent members, to respond positively to the substantive input
that is being provided by the majority of member states by show the
political will to act. This response should be reflected in the improvement
of the working methods of the Council.
Finally Mr. President, you would recall
that a few months ago, this august body was thrown into an unusual
situation, involving contestants for positions in the expansion of
the Security Council, which jeopardized the unity of this Organization.
During that experience, the issue of expansion completely overshadowed
other major priority issues demanding our attention, including other
aspects of United Nations reform. It is Indonesia’s commitment
that the unity of the Member States of the Organization remains of
the utmost importance at all times. In that regard, we must take care
to address all the issues of common interest equitably in order to
avoid divisiveness in the future. Indonesia is fully supportive of
efforts to find a fresh approach to this matter in the spirit of unity.
I thank you.
