VIETNAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Liên Đoàn Thương Mại Và Công Nghiệp Việt Nam
Wed, Nov 18, 2020, 08:43:00
Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese mission to the United Nations, has expressed the country’s support for reform efforts being pushed by the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) in a bid to ensure the continued representation, democracy, transparency, and efficiency of the Council.
The United Nations General Assembly discussed the Security Council reform during its regular annual meeting on November 16- 17 with regard to equal representation and increasing the composition of the UN Security Council, with more than 170 UN members in attendance.
During the meeting, representatives from more than 70 nations gave their opinions on a number of UNSC-related issues.
The majority of countries indicated that the 75th Anniversary of the UNSC held this year marks an important occasion to reaffirm determination and to promote reforms among the UNSC, especially when the total number of UN members has grown from 51 in 1945 to 193 at present. Indeed, it has been more than 50 years since the Security Council was expanded, with the previous occasion taking place in 1965.
The duration of the meeting saw members agree to promote the Intergovernmental Negotiations framework (IGN) to initiate a faster and more substantive reform of the council.
Most notably, five major reform issues that must be considered include the relationship between the UNSC and the UN General Assembly, along with the number and type of membership of nations after expansion. This is in addition to working methods, veto power, and regional representation issues, the enhancement of equitable representation among regions, especially those from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and developing countries, whilst also striving for the highest possible consensus.
Despite these reform efforts, there are still remains differences between some countries and groups of nations on several issues, such as the possibility of formalising the IGN, procedures applicable to the negotiation process, and reaching a general consensus on negotiating documents.
In his remarks, Ambassador Quy advocated for the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent members. He also pushed for promises to be made for equitable representation of regional groups, especially for underrepresented countries that are without representatives or those with few representatives, in addition to developing countries.
