(HERALD) Call for UN Security Council reform

Call for UN Security Council reform
Wednesday, 26 October 2011 00:00
Herald Reporters

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi yesterday called for the urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council to make it more democratic and accountable to the 194 member states that constitute the UN General Assembly.
Speaking at the 66th anniversary of the United Nations, Minister Mumbengegwi said Zimbabwe, Africa and the rest of the developing world were clamouring for reform of the UN system.

"The loudest calls are for the reform of the UN Security Council. The UN Charter provides it with the important role of maintaining international peace and security. Its decisions under Chapter V11 of the charter are binding on all UN member states. Yet its composition and methods of work are extremely opaque and undemocratic," he said.

Minister Mumbengegwi said although Africa was the largest single group at the United Nations, it had no representation among the veto power-wielding members of the UN Security Council. On the contrary a number of small countries in Europe wielded the veto power in the Security Council, he said.

"There is absolutely no justification for this injustice. We have noted with great concern how these same countries have consistently abused this important institution to settle bilateral political scores, which have no bearing whatsoever to international peace and security," Minister Mumbengegwi said.

He said the Libyan situation represented another gross abuse of the UN Security Council. Resolution 1973 was passed to protect civilians but in the hands of Nato and the Western powers, it was turned into an instrument of brutal destruction of lives, property and infrastructure, he said.

Minister Mumbengegwi said the past nine months had witnessed the systematic conquest of Libya by Nato, culminating in their capture and brutal extra judicial killing of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi last week.

"The same fate befell his children, colleagues and many Libyans in total violation of international law as provided for under the various statutes of the UN," he said.
Additionally, Minister Mumbengegwi said regime change was never provided for in the UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

"The past nine months have demonstrated how a few countries with their air force in the air and their special forces on the ground can easily treat the Security Council and its resolutions with utter contempt and render that important organ of the UN totally impotent.

"Although other important members of the Security Council protested at the abuse of UNSC Resolution 1973, they could do nothing to stop the abuse since any effort to do so would have been vetoed by those in Nato who wield the veto power.

"Remember Iraq? What has happened in Libya must stand as an example to all members of the UN that Chapter V11 resolutions must never be loosely worded to allow a group of greedy countries to destroy member state for their selfish ends," he said.

Minister Mumbengegwi also criticised the dubious methods used by the Western countries to secure the nine votes required to impose Chapter V11 sanctions on Zimbabwe. He, however, thanked China and Russia for their principled stand in casting their double veto to stop a possible catastrophe in Zimbabwe.

Minister Mumbengegwi thanked the UN and its various agencies for carrying out various developmental projects in the country.
He said the UNDP and other UN agencies would always do well since they respected the sovereignty of the countries they operated in.
UN Day is celebrated on the 24th of October every year.

The global theme for this year's celebration is "UN Works for You" and the particular theme for Zimbabwe is "Sustainable Development Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals".