78th Session of the General Assembly
Informal meeting of the plenary on the intergovernmental negotiations on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council
“Five Clusters. Scope and use of the veto”
Statement delivered by H. E Mr. Rein Tammsaar, Permanent Representative of Estonia to the United Nations
8 March 2024, New York
Co-chairs,
As I am taking the floor for the first time during this IGN session, let me first thank co-chairs, dear Axel and Tareq, for your continued leadership, innovation and reiterate that you have Estonia´s full support to bring this process to a meaningful result. Be it Co-Chairs’ conclusion with suggestions for the way forward, or something else.
On the limitations to the scope and use of veto, I would like to make following points:
Last year’s Elements Paper noted that question of the veto is a key element of Security Council reform. Rightly so.
Estonia believes that the standing mandate to convene a General Assembly debate, whenever a veto is cast, is a significant step towards accountability, transparency and responsibility of all of the permanent members of the Security Council, but more needs to be done to hold the Council members with veto power truly accountable. What can we do?
There should be no veto right if there is a suspicion or even more so, clear evidence that the one who uses it may have acted or has acted against international law. Estonia therefore supports the French-Mexican initiative on veto restraint.
As a member of the Code of Conduct by the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group, Estonia with other 129 member states, insists on refraining from voting against resolutions aimed at ending mass atrocities, including the crime of aggression. I call on the signatories on the Council, permanent and elected, not only to refrain from voting against credible draft resolutions, but to support timely and decisive action to prevent or halt mass atrocities. Including drafting products and calling meetings.
As these initiatives have gained large support among UN member states, we should try to agree how to universalise and codify them. We need a collective deterrence against the use or rather abuse of veto right – no one can be above international law.
Chair,
The biggest threat to international peace and security and therefore totally unacceptable, is if and when the aggressor-state is shielding its responsibility for the crime of aggression with the use of veto right, and the Security Council is unable to act. The UN Charter is not silent on this issue – it stipulates, in paragraph 3 of Article 27, that “a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting” in the Security Council. I assume that it is rather clear that if one state is for example shelling with all its military might, day after day, for two years another country´s cities, villages and infrastructure, killing its citizens and attempting to annex its territory, – it is obvious that a dispute/conflict is present and the aggressor is a party to this dispute/is a party to this conflict.
So I call on the Council to ensure the strict and faithful – to quote ICJ judge Nabil Elaraby – implementation of this clause, as foreseen in the Charter and as has been done in numerous cases after the UN was brought to life. We need to collectively ad urgently decide how to enforce Article 27, para 3 implementation.
Regarding the SC working methods – in the last two years we have seen, and very much welcome, the Council’s new utilisation of Special Reports. We commend the Council’s consistent publication in line with GA resolution 76/262 each time a veto is cast. We expect this to continue.
Chair,
Let me conclude by repeating that when it comes to the composition of the reformed Council, small, medium sized and large countries should all be represented. And yet, in addition to equitable representation, we must also fully take into account observance by the candidates of the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and their unequivocal support for international law and the International Criminal Court.
Thank you, co-chairs.