NEW YORK: The Arab Group demands a permanent and full representation in any future expansion of the UN Security Council (UNSC), said Kuwait's Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi. This came late Tuesday during the fifth meeting of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly for intergovernmental negotiations on the question of equitable representation and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters.
Otaibi also noted during his speech on behalf of the Arab States the importance of focusing on the reform process on alleviating the injustice inflicted on developing countries, especially Arab and African countries that are not represented at all in the category of permanent seats on the Security Council.
In order to ensure fairness of regional representation at a global level, the specificity of the Arab group as a regional group should be recognized by the expanded Security Council without being counted on the African groups or the Asia-Pacific, he added.
Ambassador Otaibi affirmed that the Arab group does not see a need to hold additional rounds of government negotiations during the current session, and the group insists that government negotiations are the only forum for reaching an agreement on expanding and reforming the Security Council, in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 557/62.
Furthermore, the group stresses the need to ensure a smooth transition through a procedural decision that includes all new and old IGN documents, in a way that allows member states to continue working collectively during the next session to formulate a common understanding that provides the necessary grounds for reaching a comprehensive reform for the Council, said Otaibi. - KUNA