Reforming the United Nations Organization is something a multi-polar world order will never be happening without.
In an exclusive interview with the Voice of Russia, deputy foreign minister Alexander Yakovenko said it was little surprise that the proposed reform of the UNO dominated the agenda of last month’s session of the General Assembly. He also mentioned a general agreement reached there to start intergovernmental talks on UN reform already before the end of February 2009.
The realities of the 21st century literally beg for a collective handling of arising problems and streamlining the work of the UN’s many agencies, Alexander Yakovenko said. The UN Commission on the World Order which is already at work is meant to help conflict-stricken countries return to normal life and better cooperate with the outside world. The Council for Human Rights is also in place keeping an eye on the humanitarian situation in the UN member-states.
The Security Council also needs reforms and here Russia’s proposal to ensure more efficient work of the Security Council with a limited membership expansion remains unchanged. Russia argues that in a multipolar world 5 permanent members of the Security Council, that is Russia, the US, China, France and Britain, plus 10 non-permanent members, are no longer able to singlehandedly contain the growing security threats. The recent armed conflict in the Caucasus clearly showed that the world nations need to act as one against terror and more and more countries should have a bigger say in the UN’s decision-making process. There is the negative example of the EU though whose 27 members are extremely rarely able to reach a consensus. And still, Russia warns against the possibility of the Security Council losing its sway due to its ever-expanding membership.
The UN members are of two minds about what the Security Council should look like, Alexander Yakovenko said. All we know is that India, Brazil, South Africa, Germany and Japan are all looking for a permanent membership. Some people suggest increasing the number of non-permanent members and also to have the so-called “semi-permanent” members. Which means that some countries could see their membership term extended. There are other suggestions too, Yakvenko added.
Speaking at the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that until now the ideological dictums of the Cold War era have prevented the UNO from fully realizing its potential. Now it’s vitally important for all countries to reaffirm their adherence to the UNO as the one and only global platform for open and fair debate and coordination of global politics on a just basis devoid of any double standards, Lavrov said. This is something we all need to build a multipolar world based on equality and mutual respect, he added.
