The Arab Group at the UN, represented by Kuwait, called on Tuesday, January 26, for having a permanent Arab representation at the UN Security Council, if the council undergoes an expansion.
The international group also called for a “more proportional” Arab representation in non-permanent UN Security Council seats.
Kuwait’s Ambassador to the UN, Mansour Al-Otaibi, made the statement on behalf of the Arab Group during a meeting of the 75th UN General Assembly for intergovernmental negotiations.
The meeting tackled the issue of “equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the security council.”
The UN Security Council is currently composed of 15 member states, including five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US — and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
The debate about the reform of the Security Council and its expansion to become more inclusive has been ongoing for over a decade, but it is yet to bear results.
In the event the UN Security Council gets expanded in the future, member states of the Arab League would like to have a permanent seat.
A permanent seat at the council gives its holder the power of veto, enabling them to prevent the adoption of any “substantive” resolution, regardless of its level of international support.
Al-Otaibi said on Tuesday that the Arab Group’s call is “based on objective criteria represented by the Arab population density and the number of Arab countries in the United Nations.”
The Kuwaiti diplomat also argued that Arab countries deserve to have a permanent seat at the Security Council because much of the council’s agenda relates to conflicts in the Arab world.
Al-Otaibi expressed the Arab Group’s support for a “real and comprehensive” reform of the UN Security Council to make it “more representative, transparent, neutral, and credible.”
