Pakistan at UN: abolish or curb the Security Council veto, no new permanent members

Pakistan has told the UN General Assembly that the Security Council veto should be abolished or, at the least, severely restricted, and that it opposes adding any new permanent members or extending the veto to them. Gul Qaiser Sarwani, a counsellor at Pakistan's Mission to the UN in New York, set out the position at the Assembly's debate on the use of the veto, Dawn reported on Tuesday. Geo News and Business Recorder carried the same statement.

What Pakistan said

• No new permanent seats. Expanding permanent membership and the veto would "deepen existing inequalities, perpetuate historical advantages and increase the risk of Council paralysis," Sarwani said.
• Curb the veto. Pakistan wants it abolished or tightly limited, in a way consistent with the UN Charter, and paired with more seats and a bigger role for elected members.
• Keep the accountability rule. Pakistan backs General Assembly resolution 76/262, under which the Assembly meets to debate every veto cast in the Council.
• One package. The veto should be settled together with the other four issues in the intergovernmental negotiations on Council reform, not on its own.

He summed it up as "Reform for all. Privilege for none," and stressed the Assembly's legitimacy as the one body where every member state sits.

Why it matters to Pakistan

The Council has five permanent members with a veto: the US, UK, France, Russia and China. Proposals to add new permanent seats usually include India, which Pakistan has long opposed. Pakistan's call for more elected seats instead would give every country a chance to rotate onto the Council. The statement came on the same day Pakistan marked Kashmir Black Day, reaffirming solidarity with Kashmiris and calling for an end to rights violations.

A recent UN report cited by Dawn says the veto is one reason the UN has failed to prevent or stop wars between states. The Secretary-General has called for a larger Council with fairer representation for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific.

What happens next

The veto debate is held each year, and the reform talks continue in the General Assembly with no deadline. Nothing changes until two-thirds of members, including all five permanent members, ratify a Charter amendment.

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