SINGAPORE: On 25 September, Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, called for substantial reforms of the United Nations Security Council ( UNSC), focusing on constraining the veto powers exercised by the five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
He made the point during a public discussion at the Security Council that the UN must conform to the extremely dangerous international environment, where numerous problems are putting human lives at risk.
Dr. Balakrishnan emphasized that the UN is at a crucial turning point.
” The United Nations is at a turning place.” He reaffirmed that we must reform both the UN and international systems in order to address both the present and future challenges, including the transformation of the Security Council itself.
His remarks are a result of his attendance at the UN General Assembly’s 79th conference, which took place from September 19 to September 28 in New York.
Dr. Balakrishnan demanded that the Security Council evaluate how the filibuster is exercised during his tackle.
He noted that the council’s ability to maintain international peace and security has been undermined by the continuous people ‘ increasing use of vetoes, which has paralyzed decision-making.
He urged” all continuous members to concentrate on achieving global peace and security.” However, the pattern of the filibusters increasing suggests that we cannot keep this up to the permanent five to freely change their behavior.
The Security Council consists of 15 people, including 10 non-permanent people elected for two-year words.
The latest non-permanent people include Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
Dr. Balakrishnan stressed the value of expanding the scope of these elected officials, especially in filling in deficiencies when the everlasting five are firmly entrenched in mutual distrust.
He argued that these members may include a greater say in important decision-making techniques.
Dr. Balakrishnan even advocated for more engagement between the UN and other UN organizations to advance efforts to prevent issue.
He referred to Article 99 of the UN Charter, which allows the Secretary-General to take notice to threats to global peace.
He stressed how crucial it is for the council to act quickly when using this content, especially when there are humanitarian crises and mass atrocities.
According to Dr. Balakrishnan,” Article 99 of the UN Charter is in fact a powerful preventive politics tool,” referring to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ‘ December 2023 request for a charitable ceasefire in Gaza.
The content was invoked for the first time by Guterres since he took office in 2017.
Singapore’s press for veto reform is in line with wider global initiatives to address the limitations of the current UNSC structure.
In March 2024, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Burhan Gafoor, expressed worry over the mayor’s declining success.
He cited the rise in filibusters since a resolution was passed in April 2022 to restrict their usage.
” Since the filibuster program resolution was adopted in April 2022, we have seen 12 filibusters”, Gafoor noted at the time.
Also, Singapore supports a French-Mexican effort that seeks to limit the use of filibusters in conditions involving large crimes.
In such cases, permanent individuals are advised to abstain from voting, particularly if they are immediately involved in the conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron also addressed the UN on September 25, 2024, in support of measures that would allow for the filibuster of mass killings.
” Reform of the content of the Security Council alone is not enough to make it more effective,” says the statement.
In what appeared to be a reference to Russia’s use of vetoes in conflicts like the Gaza war, Macron stated,” I even wish for reform to change the operating methods to reduce the right to a veto in case of large crimes.”
The UNSC’s limitations, especially when continuous members exercise their veto power to obstruct resolutions that might reduce humanitarian disasters or finish conflicts, are reflected in Dr. Balakrishnan’s statements, along with those of other world leaders.
When the US vetoed a resolution requesting charitable stops in the Israeli-Palestinian fight last year and blocked the Arab Authority’s request for entire UN membership, this topic came into strong focus.
Also, in March 2024, Russia and China vetoed a US-led resolution calling for an instant peace in Gaza.
