Consensus exists on adding more non-permanent seats to UNSC
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says consensus exists only on adding more non-permanent seats to United Nations Security Council.
Speaking in the fifth session of Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi said that as reform will eventually entail an amendment in the UN Charter, discussions should proceed by careful thought and consensus.
She said that discussions on reform of the Security Council are an intensely serious matter and cannot be undermined by trying to set arbitrary deadlines or forcing the pace without first finding common ground.
Maleeha Lodhi also pointed out that “Reform of the Security Council is fundamentally different than any other reform process in the UN.
While sharing the sense of discontent on slow pace of reform, the Pakistani envoy noted that Council reform has proven to be much more elusive than other areas of reform.
She said ,there is consensus on expansion in the non-permanent category of seats and pointed out that the UfC has gone a step further, by proposing longer term non-permanent seats as a ‘compromise’ solution.
Calling for a spirit of flexibility and compromise by all sides, she said that unless we are willing to go that extra mile, progress will remain elusive. APP
