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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 17:34 |
By JIM GENARO
After addressing the 50th anniversary gala for the United Nations Association of Western North Carolina at the Young Womenës Christian Association last Wednesday night, former U.N. Undersecretary Gillian Sorenson answered questions on the future of the organizaiton.
"There has been talk of expanding the Security Council," a man said. "What is your take on the problems and opporunities involved with this?" a man asked.
There has been much discussion about expanding the SC to 22 members in recent years, Sorrenson acknowledged.
"The discussion had gone on so long that if youëd asked me about it a year ago, Iëd have said the time is right," she said.
However, when it came down to practical discussions of which countries would join, negotiations broke down, Sorrenson added.
The Quartet, a
coalition of India, Japan, Germany and Brazil, have been considered for
admission as a permanent member of the council.
Sorrenson said
that while there was initial support for the Quartet to join, the move
failed because China ÇƒÓ which holds a permanent seat on the security
Council and hence holds veto power ÇƒÓ refused to support Japanës
admission.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ÇƒÓ also a permanent member ÇƒÓ supported Japan but opposed the other three nations joining.
"Expansion of
the Security Council is a very political issue," she said. "The five
(permanent members) are unwilling to give up one iota of the privilege
they have enjoyed for 60 years with the power of veto."
"Will you tell us more about the new secretary general?" a woman asked.
Ban Ki-moon was
unanimously endorsed to serve a five-year term in the position, she
said. The South Korean native is an expert on affairs between the two
Korean states, she added ÇƒÓ a background that will be helpful in
negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear-weapons program.
By tradition,
Sorrenson said, the secretary general is usually chosen from a small
country and the region from which he or she comes rotates from term to
term.
However, she added, "There are no real rules about how the election takes place. All of this just happened over time."
A woman in the audience asked what Sorenson saw as the legacy of Kofi Ananës term as secretary general.
"He put a
tremendous effort on development, on helping the poorest of the poor,"
Sorrenson answered. "He would always say that peacekeeping and
development go together."
Other
accomplishments she listed included a strong emphasis on human rights
and the appointment of a number of women to high offices within the
organization.
"Could you
please speak to the interface between the U.N. and the Breton Woods
organizations," such as the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund? a man asked.
He suggested that the two groups often have conflicting interests.
However,
Sorenson disagreed with this assessment. "I would say itës a very good
relationship," she replied. "There are some differences in what they
do, but they are complementary. (Former World Bank President James)
Wolfensohn worked especially closely with Kofi Annan."
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