UNITED NATIONS, Feb 2: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday that “the slow erosion of the UN’s authority and legitimacy stems from the perception that it has a very narrow power base, with just five countries — United States, Russia, China , France and Britain — calling the shots.
“I have in the past described this as a democracy deficit “ Mr Annan said in impromptu remarks in London.
Saying that the great failure of the world summit in New York last year was that it did not agree on enlargement of the Security Council, Mr Annan noted that ‘it is this feeling of frustration and exclusion that prompts many states to exercise the only power they do have: the power to block other reforms, such as better management – since some see even this as an attempt by the big boys to grab yet more power for themselves’.
Underscoring that the base must be broadened, he said ‘sooner or later, the Security Council will have to be enlarged. But meanwhile there are other ways to give more states more of a say in UN decisions’.
“The permanent members could pay more attention to the elected members – and the General Assembly could take more care to elect members who are up to the responsibility,” he said.
He observed that the Security Council should be more willing to share power with other organs of the United Nations, including the new Human Rights Council and Peacebuilding Commission, a reformed Economic and Social Council, and the General Assembly itself.
