Greater Transparency, Greater Efficiency, Greater Democratization
September 21, 1999
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain HE Mr. Abel Matutes at the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
A fundamental aspect of the reform process is the reform of the Security Council, which is consistent with the vital role assigned to this body by the United Nations Charter. Spain considers that this reform must pursue three basic goals:
- greater transparency in the working methods, by increasing the number and quality of the consultations of the countries forming part of it, both among themselves and with the other Member States;
- greater efficiency, for which purpose it would be advisable to limit the exercise of the right of veto. There are instances in which the exercise of this right (or even the more or less veiled threat to exercise it) has blocked the functioning of the Security Council, thereby preventing the adoption of essential decisions that enjoys wide support in the international community. At times this has not only prevented the United Nations from performing the essential duty of keeping international peace and security for which it was founded, but has to a large extent been responsible for the Organization's image of inefficiency and impotence in certain sectors of public opinion, to which I referred previously;
- greater democratization, which means adapting its composition to the recent evolution of the international community. The intense discussions held on this point in recent years lead us to believe that it is possible to reach a sufficient consensus only with regard to the idea of enlarging the number of non-permanent members. Spain is in favor of increasing the presence on the Security Council of all the regional groups.
