Ban supports drive for UNSC enlargement

By Kang Hyun-kyung

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon vowed to facilitate discussion on the expansion of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to ensure that the body for international peace and security properly reflects the shift in distribution of power over the past decades.

He said member governments have “almost” reached a consensus on the need for UNSC enlargement and are now discussing which side _ the permanent or non-permanent membership _ needs to be expanded.

“Reform of the UNSC is one of the most important issues in the U.N.,” Ban said in an interview with The Korea Times at a Seoul hotel Saturday. “(All) member countries agreed that the UNSC should be reformed to be more transparent, representative and democratic.”

After arriving in Seoul Wednesday for the G20 summit held here Thursday and Friday, the former South Korean minister of foreign affairs and trade squeezed several interviews with local as well as international journalists into his busy schedule.

The tight schedule has made it difficult for him to find time to meet with his mother and relatives.

During the premier gathering of the leaders of the world’s richest nations, Ban called on them to work closely together with the U.N., stressing the two institutions were complementary, not competitive.

His remarks on UNSC reform came days after U.S. President Barack Obama made a surprise announcement of his backing of India in its bid to get a permanent seat on the council in a speech before India’s parliament at the end of his three-day visit to the country last week.

“Indeed the just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a U.N. that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate,” Obama was quoted as saying. “And that is why I can say today, in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed UNSC that includes India as a permanent member.”

Obama’s support of India in its bid to become a permanent UNSC member was apparently aimed at countering China, which foreign media depicted as “assertive” in the wake of its growing economic and military clout.

Together with China, India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. India is also the world’s largest democracy with the population of approximately 1.2 billion.

Pundits speculated that including India as a permanent UNSC member would serve the United States’ strategic interest as the South Asian country has demonstrated a positive record in the non-proliferation campaign, although it is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Ban declined to give his view on Obama’s support of India’s bid to seek a permanent seat on the UNSC in detail, saying as secretary general he was not in a position to comment on it.

Over the past six decades, during which the UNSC has been charged with the responsibility of establishing peace-keeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military action, there has been a major shift in the distribution of power.

Along with the fast-growing Chinese and Indian economies, foreign policy experts said the emergence of middle-tier economies is also behind the shift in the global geopolitical landscape.

Supporters of the UNSC reform said the current five permanent members _ the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France _ have not properly represented the voices of emerging powers.

Ban said discussion on the reform is underway in the U.N. but it will take time for member states to reach a final decision. “As secretary general, my job is to facilitate this process,” he added

‘Innovative’ financing

After assuming the U.N. secretary general job, Ban, among other global issues on his agenda, has prioritized the effort to mitigate climate change and promote green growth as a signature campaign.

“The U.N. has been leading this campaign and I have been at the forefront,” he said.

Fighting climate change requires governments to have advanced technology and environmental infrastructure, which developing and poor nations are poorly equipped with.

Under Ban’s leadership, the U.N. has striven to provide financial support and technical assistance to developing nations in order to help them fight climate change.

During a conference held in Stockholm last year, governments agreed to provide $30 billion annually to developing nations by the end of 2012 and thereafter $100 billion annually by 2020.

Ban established an advisory group, dubbed the High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, co-chaired by Prime Ministers Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia to study ways to implement the agreement.

The two leaders finalized their report in early November.

“What they found (in the report) is that to provide $100 billion per year to developing countries is going to be a challenge, but it is feasible.”

The U.N. chief noted that the member states need to search for “innovative” ways of financing to attain the goal.

According to the advisory group’s final report, in order to provide $100 billion annually by 2020, U.N. member states will need a mix of alternative public financing sources and private funding.

The report said keeping the cost of carbon dioxide emissions at $20-25 per ton will be important in meeting this goal.

The U.N. chief promoted his climate change campaign during the G20 summit, urging the leaders to fulfill their role to support developing nations.

Near the end of the interview, he said he has been trying to “lead by example” and that he has to sacrifice all his personal interests, as well as his well-being after assuming the role of secretary general.

Ban left Seoul for New York early Sunday morning, after wrapping up his four-day visit.

반기문 총장: 유엔안보리 확대 움직임

반기문 유엔 사무총장은 유엔 안보리를 확대하는 방안에 대해 유엔회원국들간에 공감대가 형성되었으며, 소위 P5라고 불리는 상임이사국 회원국 수를 확대할 것인지, 비상임이사국을 확대하는 방안으로 갈 것인지 등 구체적인 내용에 관한 논의가 현재 유엔에서 활발하게 진행되고 있다고 밝혔다.

G20 서울정상회의 차 한국을 4일간 방문했던 반 총장은 지난 토요일 서울에서 이루어진 코리아 타임스와의 인터뷰를 통해 사무총장으로서 유엔안보리 확대논의를 진전시킬 것이라고 밝혔다.

반총장의 이같은 발언은 지난주 미국 오바마 대통령이 인도를 3일간 방문한 기간 동안 인도의회 연설을 통해 인도가 유엔 상임이사국 진출을 하려는 노력을 지지한다고 밝힌 이후에 나온 발언이어서 주목을 받았다.

오바마 대통령이 인도에게 유엔 상임이사국 진출 지지의사를 밝힌 것을 두고 전문가들은 세계 2위의 경제대국이 된 중국을 견제하기 위한 포석이라고 분석했다.

반총장은 오바마 대통령의 인도 유엔 상임이사국 진출 지지 발언에 대해 즉답을 피하면서, 유엔 안보리 논의는 회원국들간 결정될 사안이라고 답변했다.