H. E. MR. KOICHI HARAGUCHI
Permanent Representative of Japan
At the Meeting of the General Assembly
on Item 11: Report of the Security Council and Item 40:
Question of Equitable Representation on
and Increase in
the Membership of the Security Council and Related Matters
14 October 2002
Mr. President,
At the outset, I would like to express my
appreciation to the President of the Security Council, Ambassador
Belinga-Eboutou of Cameroon, for his introduction of the
annual Report of the Security Council on its work. I would
also like to thank the former President of the General Assembly,
H. E. Dr. Han Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea, as well
as Ambassador Ingolfsson of Iceland and Ambassador Durrant
of Jamaica for preparing a concise report of the Open-ended
Working Group on Security Council reform.
Mr. President,
Looking back on the activities of the Security
Council during the past year since the terrorist attacks
on September 11, we think that, in general, the Council
has functioned well in carrying out its tasks in the maintenance
of international peace and security. The best example is
its efforts in counter-terrorism, where the Council enjoyed
the positive cooperation of non-members. I am also pleased
to note that, in the case of Afghanistan, steady progress
has been made in the area of reconstruction, with the cooperation
of donor countries, and in restoring security, also with
the support of members as well as non-member countries.
I highly appreciate the fact that the Council, while maintaining
its unity, has tackled such complicated issues as the situation
in the Middle East and the International Criminal Court.
Mr. President,
I would like to welcome the improvements
that have been made in the working methods of the Council.
I am particularly pleased that this year’s Report
of the Security Council reflects its efforts to respond
to the criticisms expressed by non-members of the Council
during the debate of this item at the General Assembly last
year. However, I would like to make two suggestions for
further improvement.
First, I welcome the effort of the Council
to enhance participation of non-members by, for example,
convening frequent open meetings and meetings with troop-contributing
countries. However, the new mechanism for convening joint
meetings between Council members and troop-contributing
countries which was introduced at the beginning of this
year still lacks clarity as to how this mechanism actually
works. I would like to request the Council to make further
improvements on this matter. It is the view of the Government
of Japan that the effective functioning of a peacekeeping
operation requires the involvement of not only those countries
which provide military and police personnel but also those
which supply civilian personnel or which make major financial
contributions. We should always bear in mind that the smooth
conduct of a peacekeeping operation is only possible with
the appropriate involvement of these countries.
My second suggestion relates to Security
Council missions. I understand that missions dispatched
by the Security Council can play an important role in determining
how the United Nations should be engaged in efforts to settle
a regional conflict. However, from the viewpoint of the
cost-effectiveness, I think it is necessary that the costs
and the criteria for deciding when and where to dispatch
a mission as well as its composition be made transparent.
For instance, a clear explanation should be given to non-members
why the Council deems it necessary to send a mission to
Kosovo three years in succession.
Mr. President,
I welcome the Council’s voluntary
efforts to improve its working methods, although I find
it regrettable that discussion among the Council members
has been conducted on the premise that the existing size
and composition will be maintained. The challenges to international
peace and security are rapidly changing, both quantitatively
and qualitatively, while the present system for maintaining
international peace and security is led by the five States
that were entrusted with the responsibility at the time
the UN was established more than half a century ago. It
thus makes us wonder whether the present system is the most
suitable option for securing the legitimacy and effectiveness
of the Council. As I have already mentioned, if we look
back on its activities during the past year, the Council
now requires knowledge and expertise in an ever wider range
of fields. Its counter-terrorism efforts, for example, involve
those ranging from public security to international financing.
And to ensure the implementation of resolutions adopted
by the Security Council, the cooperation of all Member States
is likewise required in a broad range of areas.
Mr. President,
Having said that, in order to avoid any
possible misunderstanding, I have to stress that there is
no question that the present five permanent members have
both the will and the adequate capacity to contribute to
world peace and security and that they have discharged this
responsibility well. In this new era, however, I must seriously
ask, is it not important that other countries that have
an equally strong will and adequate capacity as the P5 also
be actively engaged in contributing to world peace and stability,
thereby further enhancing the legitimacy and effectiveness
of the Council? Furthermore, with the admission of Switzerland
and Timor-Leste, there are now as many as 191 Member States
of the United Nations. From the viewpoint of its representativeness,
how can we keep the Council at its present size and composition,
which is the same as it was nearly forty years ago, when
there were only 118 Member States. It is of course essential
that the Council’s efficiency be maintained. However,
I think it is increasingly necessary to expand the Council,
while paying due attention to ensure that its effectiveness
will not be sacrificed.
Mr. President,
I believe that the views I have just expressed
are shared by most of the UN membership. That 80 countries
referred to the need to reform the Security Council during
the general debate last month supports this belief. Also,
within the broader framework of strengthening the United
Nations, we must bear in mind that Security Council reform
remains one of the most important items on the UN agenda.
As the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, put it in his
report on this issue, g"No reform of the United Nations
would be complete without reform of the Security Council".
Mr. President,
In his statement at the close of the 56th
session, the then president, H. E. Dr. Han Seung-soo, mentioned
that in the past year the discussion of Security Council
reform, "has not seen much change." Japan shares the frustration
which many countries are now feeling. Because the United
Nations had to devote itself to the fight against terrorism
this past year, we were unable to build upon the momentum
that had been generated at the Millennium Summit the previous
year. It is thus all the more important that we revitalize
our discussion now. In noting that the debate on reform
will enter its tenth year next year, Prime Minister Koizumi
avowed in his statement at this General Assembly Hall in
September that Japan intends to work hard to achieve progress
on Security Council reform.
My delegation believes that, as the first
practical step toward concluding a comprehensive reform
package, our discussions at the meetings of the Open-ended
Working Group on Security Council reform should now focus
on such question as the number of seats on the enlarged
Council. Based on my delegation’s experience last
year, we cannot expect to make progress by repeating our
discussion of existing papers. We thus look forward to the
positive engagement by the Bureau of the Working Group under
the leadership of President Kavan.
As we continue with this task, we also think
that it will be helpful to provide opportunities to consider
the issue from various angles, both inside and outside the
United Nations, and with wider participation by both government
officials and non-governmental actors. In the event concrete
progress toward Security Council reform is not achieved
even after ten years of deliberations on this issue, it
might be worthwhile to consider measures for moving the
discussion forward by, for example, holding meetings with
representatives of Member States at the political level.
Mr. President,
In the Millennium Declaration, heads of
states and governments committed themselves to comprehensive
reform of the Security Council. It is up to us to continue
our efforts toward that end. Japan reaffirms its determination
to do just that, and is ready to cooperate with other Member
States to realize our common objective, Security Council
reform.
Thank you, Mr. President
