13 October 2004	Wednesday	27 Shaban 1425

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UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12: Pakistan has warned that any effort to rush through a proposal on the sensitive issue of UN Security Council's enlargement by a vote in the General Assembly would be "manifestly divisive.

"It will defeat the very purpose of the panel's report," observed Pakistan delegate Akram Zaki during his address to the UN General Assembly on Monday. He was speaking on 'the question of equitable representation and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters.'

The former Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, said: "It is the aspirations of the general membership, not the ambitions of the few that must drive the reform process."

Mr Zaki said the endeavour to improve the Security Council should be guided by a vision of creating a new multilateralism which is democratic and cooperative - rather than oligarchic and coercive.

"It must address the principal concerns of UN's membership about the competence and sphere of responsibility of the Security Council; its composition and representativeness; its decision-making and working methods; its effectiveness and accountability."

Mr Zaki, who is also the vice-president of Pakistan Muslim League, said there was general consensus that Security Council's composition and its working methods are not democratic. Decisions are taken by a few. The five permanent members, some more than others, exercise inordinate influence over Council's decisions.

Simultaneously, he stated, there is a visible concern at the increasing concentration of the decision-making power in the Security Council in relation to the other organs of the United q Nations.

Mr Zaki said, this item has been under consideration in the General Assembly for over a decade. This delay is a reflection of the importance and complexity of the issues involved. -APP