Global Policy Forum

By Thalif Deen

A group of five U.N. member states -- Switzerland, Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein and Singapore -- has initiated a new resolution calling for greater transparency in the usually-secretive working methods of the most powerful body at the United Nations: the 15-member Security Council.

The proposed changes, described by some longtime diplomats as "a first" in the history of the world body, also include accountability in the exercise of the veto power: an anachronistic privilege of the permanent five (P-5) -- namely the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.

As a result of their veto powers, the P-5 have always been considered "more equal" than the rest of the membership -- in an organization where every member state has just one vote in the General Assembly, irrespective of its size or military power. "A permanent member using its veto should explain the reason for doing so at the time the relevant resolution is rejected in the Security Council, and a copy of the explanation should be circulated as a Security Council document to all members of the Organization," says an annexure to the draft resolution currently in circulation among the U.N.'s 191 member states.

"Some are unhappy with references to the veto as they see this as the thin end of the wedge -- a first attempt to reduce the influence of the five big powers," says a Third World diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. But according to one of the co-sponsors of the resolution, the primary reason for the proposed resolution is to make the proceedings of the Security Council more transparent, and for the Council to be more accountable to the wider membership it represents. The idea of a veto explanation was first mooted by the former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer when he addressed the General Assembly about four years ago.

The annexure also says that no permanent member of the Security Council should cast a non-concurring vote on issues relating to "genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law". Currently, the primary responsibility of the Security Council is the maintenance of international peace and security, as provided for in the U.N. charter. But on some of the most crucial political issues -- including the invasion of Iraq and the nuclear ambitions of Iran -- the five big powers have held closed-door discussions in private residences, thereby shutting off even the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council from its decision-making process.

The issue of working methods has been the subject of much discussion over the past 15 years in a U.N. Working Group (which also deals with the proposed expansion of the Security Council). In a letter to member states, the five co-sponsoring countries say: "The resolution is carefully worded in order to prevent an encroachment by the General Assembly upon the right of the Security Council to adopt its own rules of procedure."

The letter also says: "It invites the Security Council to consider a whole range of measures, and to inform the General Assembly on action it has taken to improve its working methods, thus launching a dialogue between members and non-members of the Security Council on the issue of working methods."

Since the Security Council legislates on behalf of the world community, it is expected to consult the wider membership to make sure that it is indeed representing world opinion and thinking on important issues. The two U.N. bodies, namely the Security Council and the General Assembly, are expected to work with each other and avoid confrontations. But last month, the 132-member Group of 77 accused the Security Council of "encroaching" into General Assembly territory because of its decision to discuss U.N. mismanagement of procurement in the Secretariat in New York, and sexual exploitation in U.N. peacekeeping operations overseas.

Addressing the Security Council last month, the chairman of the Group of 77 Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa was explicit in his criticism when he told delegates: "The Security Council is not the forum to be discussing matters that fall within the purview of the General Assembly." He said the charter of the United Nations clearly sets out the roles and responsibilities of the principal organs of the United Nations, as have relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, which is the chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations.

"Like the (114-member) Non-Aligned Movement, we wish to reiterate our concern over the encroachment by the Security Council on the functions and powers of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council," he added. "We see the Security Council infringing on issues that traditionally fall outside its competence and assuming for itself norm-setting powers that are within the purview of the General Assembly," Kumalo said. The proposed new resolution specifically reaffirms a closer relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Among the new working methods proposed by the group of five countries are:

"The Security Council should submit, in accordance with Article 24 (3) of the U.N. charter, special subject-oriented reports to the General Assembly for its consideration on issues of current international concern, including on topics such as termination of peacekeeping operations, imposition of sanctions and other enforcement measures, as well as other matters of relevance to the membership as a whole." The group also calls for "regular and timely consultations between members and non-members of the Security Council" as part of the standard operating procedures of the Security Council.

"Where decisions by the Security Council require implementation by all member states, the Security Council should seek the views of the member states and ensure that their ability to implement decisions is taken into account in the decision-making process.."

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