Pakistan opposes expansion of veto power, calls for equitable security council reform

Pakistan Monday told the UN General Assembly that reform of the Security Council must tackle the veto power, held by the five permanent members — US, Russia, China, France and UK — to end the 15-member body’s institutional paralysis and make it more effective and equitable.

“The misuse of the veto undermines the Security Council’s effectiveness and the credibility of the UN, while giving the permanent five unmatched influence throughout the UN system,” Pakistani delegate Gul Qaiser Sarwani told the 193-member Assembly where representatives reiterated calls to restructure the Council to make it more responsive to its primary role of maintaining international peace and security, as they debated use of the veto.

The General Assembly convened in line with resolution 76/262, adopted in April 2022, which mandates it to hold a session within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the Security Council.

With the campaign of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan for permanent seats on the Council in mind, Sarwani, a counsellor and political coordinator in the Pakistan Mission to the UN, said more permanent members and more vetoes would deepen existing inequalities, perpetuate historical privileges, create new centres of power and increase the risk of institutional paralysis.

“Let us be clear: the problems cannot be the solution,” he said, highlighting that Pakistan/Italy-led Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group remains opposed to addition of any new individual permanent member on an expanded Security Council.

“We believe that the veto should be abolished or at least severely restricted; it must not be expanded,” Sarwani said.

Pakistan, he said, supported resolution 76/262, saying any measures to restrict or restrain the use of the veto must be consistent with the UN Charter provisions.

Regarding the negative power of the veto to “block”, Sarwani said Pakistan believes that this can be better balanced by placing restrictions on the use of the veto or by enhancing the number and role of the elected members of the Council through larger representation and thereby changing the threshold for approval of decisions by the Council – to make it more democratic and to serve as an effective check on the use of veto.

Opening the meeting, General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman (Bangladesh) said that, with 21 such meetings convened as part of the veto initiative, the “mechanism has become an established expression of transparency, accountability and collective responsibility within our organization”.

He commended the Security Council for its timely special reports to the General Assembly and its permanent members’ participation in these debates, noting that humanity is best served when both organs “operate in balance, each fulfilling its distinct yet complementary responsibilities under the Charter”.

Noting that the Council’s effectiveness directly impacts people living in conflict, insecurity and humanitarian suffering, he said when it does not act definitively, the cost is borne “first and foremost by those most affected by violence and instability”.

“It is my hope that the Council will find the consensus needed to act decisively in the service of peace — and that the veto initiative will be needed less often”, he said, urging related debates to not become repetitive exercises, but help keep dialogue alive.

“Let us reaffirm that no veto should bring an end to dialogue and diplomacy and that the principles of the Charter must continue to guide our collective search for peace”, Rahman said.

In the ensuing debate, delegates highlighted the present and potential pitfalls of a veto-laden Security Council with its implications in regions and territories far from the location where the decision is taken.