Note for the Chairperson
of the
Open-ended
Working Group
on the Question of Equitable Representation on
and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council
and Other Matters Related to the Security Council
12 March
2001
The third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable
Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and
other Matters related to the Security Council is called to order.
At the outset, I should like to note that at our last meeting on 5 February
2001 we had agreed on a Programme of Work. This is now available as Conference
Room Paper 1 at the document officer's booth.
Delegations will also recall that at our last meeting I had informed them that
the Bureau, in keeping with previous practice, intended to deal with Cluster
I and Cluster II issues in tandem. To that end we had announced in the Journal
that we shall be dealing with Cluster I issues this morning and tomorrow morning.
We shall then take up Cluster II issues on Wednesday and Thursday; and revert
to Cluster I issues or Cluster II issues as the need may be on Friday.
To this end, I should like to point out that all delegations should have received
in their documents last Thursday morning a copy of Conference Room Paper 2 entitled
"Decision-making in the Security Council; the veto as a voting instrument in
the Security Council".
I would like to stress that the issue of veto as a voting instrument is only
one of the questions we need to address in order to facilitate process of reaching
general agreement. This paper is submitted by the Bureau in accordance with
our Programme of Work where the first item under Cluster I deals with the issue
of veto. This paper has been prepared to facilitate discussion in the Open-ended
Working Group.
I would like to recall, once again, that in the Summit Declaration the Member
States resolved to intensify efforts to achieve a comprehensive reform of the
Security Council in all its aspects. The Reform of the Council has now been
discussed over seven years. While there has been some progress and improvements
in the working methods of the Security Council, a lot still remains to be accomplished.
We need to continue our efforts to attain results and I hope to count on the
active participation and willingness by the membership to move forward on this
issue. I look forward to a fruitful and constructive discussion.
I would now like to invite comments on the paper before us.