Question of Equitable Representation on and Incresase in the Membership
of the Security Council and Related Matters
November 20, 1998
Statement by HH Mr. Inocencio F. Arias Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations
Mr. President,
I am very pleased to see you presiding over such a transcendental debate, given the moral standards, prestige and fine legal sensitivity, that your are displaying
The item we are considering today is of fundamental importance. It is so much so that this item has been tremendously POLITICIZED. The byproduct of this is the spreading of a number of judgments that try to shed a negative light upon the co-sponsors of draft resolution A/53/L16.
To my surprise and I would even dare to say to my astonishment, the co-sponsors of this draft, among others my own delegation, are being accused of:
- being obstructionists
- creating unnecessary controversies and
- bringing about schisms in the Organization
We would be, in sum, frivolous people that by way of setting a “dangerous” precedent (?) will cause irreversible damage to the Organization.
Mr. President,
In the evidence of these statements which are totally gratuitous and almost deceitful, I would like to point out the following:
- The subject matter we are considering, and this is what draft L.16 is STRICTLY dealing with, is the REFORM of one of the PRINCIPAL ORGANS, if not the de facto main organ, of the Organization: the Security Council.
- Being this so, we believe, and this is what draft L.16 pursues, that any reform of the Council should be adopted by the LARGEST MAJORITY PROVIDED FOR IN THE CHARTER, THE MAJORITY OF ARTICLE 108. This is based upon historical, legal, political and sheer common sense reasons.
Any reform carried out by a different and lesser majority would be illogical if not a FRAUD.
- We are asking that the majority provided for in article 108 be applied to any reform of the Security Council. Hence, this is a MAJORITY ALREADY ESTABLISHED IN THE CHARTER. I point this out because I want to underline that we are not inventing anything, nor are we amending or reforming the Charter surreptitiously. There is nothing hidden in draft L.16, on the contrary is a transparent and straightforward text, of a purely procedural nature.
- I find it very hard to understand what are the problems that this text poses to some delegations. I keep asking myself a question that I would like to share with all members of the Organization:
WHO IS AFRAID OF ARTICLE 108 AND FOR WHAT REASONS?
- We would like to have an answer which is as transparent and straightforward as draft L.16.
- Spain takes this item very seriously. We are a responsible member of the Organization. Nothing can be farther from our purpose than creating divisions. We are in favour of a reform of the Security Council that we deem necessary, that we deem urgent, and that we deem undeferable.
Nevertheless, such reform must be carried out in a LEGITIMATE manner, precisely in order to prevent a confrontational and divisive atmosphere that could arise if the reform is not adopted by the widest majority legally established in the Charter of this Organization.
Mr. President,
WHO IS AFRAID OF ARTICLE 108? I repeat, circumscribing ourselves to the issue of the Security Council, Who is afraid of reiterating in a clear and unequivocal manner that in order to reform the Security Council we need the logical majority that the Charter demands for a subject of such an importance?
Who are the obstructionists and those creating unnecessary controversies: those who want that a transcendental reform be adopted by a reasonable and adequate majority, in accordance with the Charter, or those who aim at undermining this majority with reasons that are confusing and that evade my understanding?
We hope that the adoption of draft resolution L.16 by this Assembly, when we conclude our debate will result in a new impetus to the reform process of the Security Council.
Thank you, Mr. President.
