Statement by

H.E. Ambassador Adiyatwidi Adiwoso Asmady

Deputy Permanent Representative of
the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations

at the General Assembly’s Joint Debate on the Report of the Security Council (Agenda Item 9); Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters (Agenda item 125)

New York, 13 November 2007

 

Mr. President,

We are grateful to you for convening this very important joint debate.

I would not do my duty at this point if I do not express my delegation’s deep appreciation for your predecessor, H.E. Ms. Haya Rashed Al-Khalefa, for her efforts in trying to bring the member states together on the very difficult questions of the Security Council reform. We are confident that the work done will be carried forward effectively under your able guidance.

My delegation has spoken on the Report of the Security Council on behalf of the Council. We would be focusing now on certain aspects pertaining to the ‘Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters’ in our national capacity.

The UN is at a critical juncture in its history. It will not be wrong to say that the world passes through one of its most turbulent and uncertain periods. Geo-political upheavals, imbalanced situation in the economic and social fields, pockets of poverty, and climate change, confront the global citizenry with most serious questions. A judicious and equitable world order will facilitate us in properly tackling these and other challenges of collective concern.

As highlighted by the Secretary General; “The quest for a more peaceful and secure world is one of the main pillars of the work of the UN.” The Security Council, as the principal organ for the maintenance of international peace and security, is required to be fully geared in tackling the associated challenges of the 21st Century.

It can only do so effectively, if its composition and functioning demonstrate the realities of today, and it is duly mindful of the interests of developing countries, in which the majority of the world’s people reside. The Council’s legitimacy is essential. It is a whole that is greater than its sum of its parts. The Council represents the collective voice of members and not just their individual interests. It comes not only from power each member state of the Council possesses, but also from the legitimacy of the collective will and comes from UN Charter based-collective understandings of the widest possible members.

Rather the Council will need to be restructured based on the paradigm of ‘equality of all states’ in which states may be potentially selected from their respected regions. Unless that is manifested through a fair reform of the Council, it would be difficult to realise the legitimacy for this crucial organ. The trust and respect of the peoples of the world is absolutely vital for the Council in the successful exercise of its mandate. With the reform, decisions in the Council in the future should bring more the sense of collectiveness. It should reflect more positions based on collective interests of states rather than on certain national interests of its members. In this context, the bigger role of regional approach may be interesting ideas to be further explored.

Indonesia regards the comprehensive reform of the Security Council’s membership and its working methods, as fundamental for bolstering a peaceful inter-state relations dynamic, as well as an integral feature of the broader UN reform process.

We are willing to consider different proposals on the Council’s reform so long as they are embedded in the principles of democracy, accountability, and fairness, and lead to the strengthening of representation from the developing countries. We believe that the rich civilisational diversity of our world should also be seen clearly in the constitution of the reformed Council.

There needs to be a substantive change in the longstanding key issues of categories of membership, country representation criteria, veto, transparency, working methods, and balanced relations with other UN principal organs.

Mr. President,

Considerable good work has been accomplished on these issues in the previous session of the General Assembly. The Open Ended Working Group on the Council’s reform, and all the facilitators appointed by the President of General Assembly did an exemplary job in difficult circumstances. We must maintain the generated momentum, and build on the work done.

In our view, the Report A/61/47 adopted in September this year, presents a balanced reflection of the different opinions in the General Assembly’s membership.

The Report has laid down several concrete options. Those may not be ideal for all of us. Nonetheless, they provide us with some forward looking and workable ideas given the present diversity in the delegations’ positions.

We support the concept of ‘intermediary approach’ with a prior agreed ‘review mechanism’ as contained in the Report. This approach enjoys the most support among the members. However, we feel that there should be further consultations on these critical matters to minimise differences.

We need to garner the widest possible agreement since a clear ownership of the Council’s reform is crucial for the subsequent steps that would lead to ultimately amending the UN Charter. In this regard, General Assembly as the chief deliberative and decision-making organ of the UN should continue to act as the fulcrum for all our activities to achieve Council’s reform.

We hope that the member states will intensify their efforts in attaining the much needed reform. Indonesia reiterates its cooperation to the delegations in working to achieve a comprehensive and robust reform of the Council.

Thank you.