TEHRAN, Oct. 31 (MNA) � Iranian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Gholamhossein Dehghani, during UN General Assembly meeting on Friday, stressed the need for Security Council reform.


He said the international community has come to the conclusion that the current composition and working methods of the Security Council, is no longer able to play its role in maintaining international peace and security.

The UN membership during the 62nd Session of the General Assembly, he said, embarked on the process of IGN On the basis of Decision 62/557. This Decision mandates this Assembly to achieve a holistic reform on five key issues: categories of membership, the veto, size and working methods, regional representation, and the relation between the Security Council and the General Assembly and other important bodies.

He added that the expansion of the Council is one of the elements of the overall reform while other four elements are equally important and all five are linked. �We believe that no Council reform would be successful unless and until, all five interrelated clusters are appropriately, comprehensively and inclusively addressed.�

He underlined that all members of the United Nations have agreed on the need for Security Council reform. �We need a more efficient, more accountable and more transparent Security Council which is the true representative of all the members of the United Nations.�

The numerous failed attempts to change the composition of the Council, or to improve working methods, lies in the fact that the trust in this important pillar of the United Nations have fallen sharply and any attempt to reform the Council should be based on consensus among all members of the United Nations and a real political will.

�Despite the lack of progress on the main issues, we still believe that the process of the reform of the Council should not be subject to any predetermined or superficial time-table. Any unconsidered and careless decision would run the risk of harming this very delicate process which is of vital importance and great interest for the whole membership and the Organization and will have far-reaching impacts for the whole world. Therefore, all efforts should be made to reach the broadest possible agreement among the Member States. Text-based negotiation certainly is one efficient way forward, at the same time we need to agree on such a text. I wish to reiterate that Iran considers the IGN as the only appropriate and irreplaceable forum. IGN must continue to be Member States-driven and function on a fully comprehensive and transparent manner,� he added.

Dehghani said Security Council reform is a sensitive and important issue that must be done with prudence because any imprudence and rapidity may lead to unintended and irrevocable consequences on the performance of UN and the world.

The Islamic Republic of Iran describes international negotiations in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly as the only appropriate way to discuss Security Council reform, he said.

"The negotiations must be directed comprehensively and transparently with participation of all Member States and the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to participate in this process," he concluded.

By Mehr News Agency