The proposal of India and other G4 nations to forgo veto powers as permanent members of the UNSC reforms right from the beginning has not gone down well with Pakistan.
Rejecting G4 countries’ (Brazil, Japan, Germany and India) proposal, who seek permanent seats, Pakistan on Wednesday told the UNSC that ‘the veto could be counterbalanced in the Council by strengthening the voice of elected members’.
"Merely possessing veto power, even without its use, has a telling impact on the Council's working methods. But some of us propose more veto-wielding members in the Council, while calling for improved working methods of the Council. How can this dichotomy be justified," Pakistan's UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said while speaking at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on Security Council reform.
Lodhi argued that any expansion of the unelected or permanent, category of seats will not make the Security Council more democratic and representative.
She said that the only acceptable democratic method for political representation known to the modern era is periodic elections on a fixed tenure of term.
Pakistan, she said, believe that the best, and the only way, to accommodate legitimate regional and political aspirations, is to enlarge the Council in the non-permanent category.
“This not only allows more countries from respective regions to serve on the Council but also affords space to work out rotation of seats among cross-regional groups, such as the OIC and the Arab Group”, she added.
Yesterday, India, Brazil, Germany and Japan expressed willingness not to insist on veto powers being part of the UNSC reforms right from the beginning. The move was seen as bargaining chip on part of G4 members to get the reform process moving.
"The issue of veto is important, but we should not allow it to have a veto over the process of Council reform itself," India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin said.
While the new permanent members would in principle have veto powers that the current five have, Akbaruddin said, "They shall not exercise the veto until a decision on the matter has been taken during a review".
India, Brazil, Germany and Japan constitute the G4, which lobbies for Council reforms and they mutually support each other's candidatures for permanent seats on an expanded body.
