14 January 2017 11:25 PM
Gulf Times - QNA Doha
A two-day meeting on United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform got under way yesterday in Doha in the presence of HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and HE the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi.
Some 30 member-states are participating in the meeting, along with the President of the 71st UN General Assembly Peter Thomson and the Co-Chairmen of the Inter-Governmental Negotiation on Security Council Reform ambassador Mohamed Khaled Khiari of Tunisia and ambassador Ion Jinga of Romania.
During the opening session, HE the Foreign Minister stressed that the most important challenges to the world order are the stability of international community and safety of its people.
The Foreign Minister pointed out that the UNSC’s failure in carrying out its responsibilities underscores the importance of reform of the Council, which was formed decades ago under a different international circumstance.
The UNSC now is not able to keep up with the developments that have occurred in the structure and interactions of the international system over the past decades, he explained.
He added that Qatar’s hosting this meeting stems from its role as an active member in the international community and the broad agreement among the members that the Security Council reform is the collective interest of the member-states and the United Nations system.
The Foreign Minister pointed out that the UNSC reform can only be realized by bringing greater transparency to the work of the Council and increasing its members according to standards and regulations which would create a fair balance in representation and efficiency in performance.
He stressed that Qatar sees peace more comprehensively than just the absence of violence, adding that peace is to address all aspects of development, strengthening institutions, education and opening opportunities for economic recovery and political and economic integration of young people, and addressing issues of inequality, human rights violations, injustice and exclusion.
The Foreign Minister stressed the importance of understanding and flexibility in opinions on the reform of the Security Council.