By Voon Miaw Ping
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) must reform to stay relevant with the times and play a more effective role in fronting the challenges affecting the world today.
Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Makio Miyagawa said reforms are necessary as the roles and responsibilities of the world’s most powerful body in ensuring global peace and security must reflect current geopolitical and socio-economic realities.
Speaking to Bernama International News Service, here, recently, he said reforms are also vital due to the UN’s expanding memberships, and the commitment and contributions made by member countries to the UN.
He said the UNSC had not been democratised since its inception in 1945.
“The UNSC had never made reforms to create a balance since the birth of the UN. Therefore, we would like the UNSC to reform, to reflect these changes and the current circumstances present in the world,” he said.
Japan, which joined the UN in 1956, has been an active participant in the UN through its various social and economic programmes, as well as in the UN’s peacekeeping missions worldwide.
It is also currently the third-largest contributor to the UN’s general budget.
Japan, together with Germany, India and Brazil – known as the G4 nations – are striving to be admitted as permanent members of the UNSC, and are also among the strongest advocators for reforms in the UNSC.
However, Japan’s bid to be a UNSC permanent member had been met with objections from China and South Korea.
Miyagawa also concurred with Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement at the just-concluded 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, saying it reflected the sentiment shared by many countries on the necessity for the UNSC to reform and to be an effective body in preserving peace and security worldwide.
When delivering the country’s statement at the UNGA, Dr Mahathir proposed that veto (on issues) in the UNSC should only be valid if two Veto Powers – together with three non-Veto members – agree to apply it so that abuses can be prevented.
Standing on the same page, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the same event also called for the UNSC to make structural reforms.
UNSC consists of five permanent members namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, which each holds the veto power, and 10 non-permanent members which are elected for a two-year term.
–NNN-BERNAMA