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UN Security Council Issues Statement at Millennium Summit
The leaders of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council issued a joint statement on Thursday during the three-day UN Millennium Summit, pledging to make the international body stronger, more effective and efficient than ever before as it enters the new century.
The statement said that mindful of the special responsibilities of the Permanent Members of the Security Council concerning the maintenance of international peace and security, and the daunting challenges facing the UN and the world community in the coming 21st century, together, with the entire membership, they are committed to strengthening the UN, ensuring the authority of the Council, and upholding the purposes and principles of the charter.
The five Permanent Members of the Security Council include China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States. The leaders issuing the statement were Chinese President Jiang Zemin, French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and US President Bill Clinton.
In the first place, they vowed to enhance leadership for peace and security, saying that the role of the UN's leadership, particularly in maintaining world peace and security, must be strengthened to reflect the organization's changing challenges and priorities.
The statement urged that the evolution must take into account both the shifting face of the world community and the types of conflicts the UN must confront.
They committed themselves to foster a more transparent and broadly representative UN Security Council, and to promote its effectiveness as the leading body in the arena of international peace and security.
Secondly, the leaders vowed to strengthen peacekeeping.
Given that the nature and number of international conflicts demanding UN involvement has shifted fundamentally over the past decade, they pledged "to move expeditiously to endow the UN with resources -- both operational and financial -- commensurate to the tasks it faces in its peacekeeping activities worldwide."
Enhancing the UN peacekeeping capacity should "strengthen its central role in conflict prevention and settlement," the statement said, referring to the Secretary General's Expert Panel on Peace Operation as an important element to consider in ensuring the UN's effectiveness in this vital sector.
Thirdly, to revitalize management, the leaders promised to "support steps to empower the Secretary General with the mandate to modernize and streamline the Secretariat further, to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of programs, and to focus the world body's resources on priority areas, while bringing closure to activities that no longer warrant continued investment."
Fourth, describing the UN staff as its most valuable resource, and the skill, vision and dedication of the UN Secretariat staff as having made possible all that the organization has achieved to date and determining its future, the five leaders pledged to replenish human resources.
They vowed to back prompt steps to ensure that the UN's base of human capital, especially in the area of peacekeeping, can be fortified through a process that is transparent, equitable, and designed to attract the very best talent available the world over.
Lastly, in reaffirming financial commitment, they pledged to "support measures to broaden the resources base of the UN through financial structures that are equitable, transparent and reflective of current realities for the regular budget and the peacekeeping budget, and financing of UN activities,"
Under the Charter, the UN's financial base must accurately reflect the capabilities and responsibilities of every member State.
The leaders said they recognized the need to adjust the existing peacekeeping scale of assessments, which is based on the 1973 system, in light of changed circumstances, including a countries' current capacity to pay.
As permanent members of the Security Council, they committed to creating a more stable and equitable financial foundation for current and future UN operations, including through adjustments to the peacekeeping scale of assessments to reflect the role of all Member States, and especially the role of all Permanent Members in the peacekeeping financing.
To achieve their commitments and make the UN stronger and more effective, the five leaders also agreed to have more regular exchanges of views on important international issues.
They concluded the statement with appreciation and support for the UN Secretary General for the role he plays in the service of peace, development and strengthening the UN organization.
They pledged to work together with the entire UN membership to bridge differences and agree on new measures to build on the promise of the UN's first 55 years.
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