STATEMENT BY
H.E. SYED MOHD HASRIN AIDID
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
ON ITEM 127:
QUESTION OF EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION ON AND INCREASE IN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL AND OTHER MATTERS RELATED TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL
AT THE PLENARY MEETING OF
THE 75TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
NEW YORK, 16 NOVEMBER 2020
Mr. President,
Allow me at the outset to congratulate Her Excellency Joanna Wronecka, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland on her reappointment and Her Excellency Alya Al-Thani, the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar on her appointment as the Co-Chairs of the current session of the Inter-Governmental Negotiations of the Security Council reform. My delegation welcomes this early appointment as it would provide an opportunity for Member States to engage on the subject in a more productive and timely manner. We also thank the previous Co-Chairs for their work in the last session.
Mr. President,
2. My delegation has been consistent in reiterating our position that to make it more legitimate, representative, democratic, accountable and transparent, the reform of the Security Council should be comprehensive, both in terms of its working methods and expansion of its membership. We believe that an enlarged Council with fair regional representation would not only reflect the current number of UN membership, but it will also replicate the ability of the Security Council to represent the interest of all Member States.
3. Having said that, we recognize the complexity and challenges associated with the reform process. In this regard, we urge all Member States to demonstrate openness, flexibility and political will to work towards a mutually acceptable conclusion. We also call on all Member States to work collectively in exploring pragmatic approaches aimed at moving the reform process forward, particularly in the areas in which there are still significant differences.
Mr. President,
4. We have not witnessed a substantial progress on the reform process for 15 years since the 2005 World Summit. We must do our best to avoid the repetitive nature of the discussions and to demonstrate considerable flexibility throughout the negotiations. In this context, Malaysia continues to call for a text-based negotiation as we believe it constitutes the ideal step forward in this reform process.
Mr. President,
5. Malaysia continues to call for the abolishment of the veto as the current veto mechanism is undemocratic. Since 1946, the veto has been wielded more than 200 times. It is open to abuse, be it sanctimoniously, hypocritically or to uphold wrongdoings. My Prime Minister on 26 September 2020 at the General Debate had also reiterated our strong position on the use of the veto.
6. While my delegation continues to advocate for abolishing the veto system, the veto in the current format should not be used in cases of international crimes of the most serious nature such as in instances of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
7. In the most recent times, we saw how the threat of use of the veto contributed to the initial paralysis in the Security Council in adopting a resolution on the appeal for a global ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Resolution 2532 was finally adopted on 1 July 2020 following the strong call by the vast majority of the UN membership including through the issuance of the Joint Statement by 172 UN Member States, Non-Member Observer State and Observer endorsing the global ceasefire, a week earlier.
Mr. President,
8. The 75th anniversary of our Organisation this year is an opportune time for us to elevate this important issue to a higher level, in the interest of international peace, security and prosperity. Let me conclude by assuring you of Malaysia’s commitment to moving this process forward.
Thank you.