NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 25 – On behalf of the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, The Italian Permanent Representative to the Un in New York, Mariangela Zappia, showcased the new Security Council the group has in mind would: composed of 26 seats, adding eleven non-permanent members, for a total of twenty-one elected members. “Nine of these additional eleven seats would have a longer term, and be elected from the regional groups to ensure a more balanced and equitable representation, mainly of the developing world. Eastern European countries would be guaranteed increased representation in the Council. The UfC also supports the creation of an additional rotating seat for SIDS and Small States”, said Zappia stressing that the group “supports an expansion of the Council ONLY in the non-permanent category”.
According to this plan, Eastern European countries would be guaranteed increased representation in the Council. The UfC also supports the creation of an additional rotating seat for SIDS and Small States. Both longer-term seats and two-years seats will be subject to election and rotation, which are key-elements of any democratic system. “We are convinced that a reform centered on non-permanent elective seats would lead to a more democratic and representative Council, consistent both with the spirit of our times and with the need, underlined also by the PGA, to strengthen the legitimacy of the Security Council, thus reinforcing multilateralism”, said the Italian Ambassador stressing that the issue of the expansion of the category of permanent members is the reason why this reform is taking so much longer than the previous SC expansion, in the 1960s.
“Let me be clear: the UfC fully shares the objective of a more efficient and representative Council. However, we fail to understand how more permanent members – not subject to periodic elections – would make the Council more representative or effective. A more democratic Council would be more legitimate and would avoid the inaction – even paralysis – too often resulting from veto power”, she said, calling upon the principle of accountability: “New members of a reformed Council should earn their seat as a responsibility and not as a granted privilege”.
Speaking also on the basis of Italy’s recent experience in the Security Council, Zappia added that the elected members have a big potential as drivers for a more transparent and efficient Security Council. During Italy’s mandate, E10 coordination and action have proved to be a useful tools to overcome stalemates in the Council, to foster participation of civil society, and to shine a spotlight on crosscutting issues.
“The UfC position is therefore clear and consistent: we support an expansion on the Council only in the non-permanent category because we are convinced that a more favorable ratio of non-permanent to permanent members would improve the Council’s working methods, increase the transparency of its decision-making, and create more room for dialogue and interaction, thus reducing the use of the veto”.
