Limits on right to veto in UN Council debated

New York, Sep 26 (EFE) A forum organised by France and Mexico has revised the possibility of putting limits on the right to veto in the UN Security Council, a privilege enjoyed by five world powers.

The meeting Thursday debated a proposal by France last year that one did not resort to a veto in situations of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and which increasingly has been gaining international support.

Only the five permanent members - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain - of the UN Security Council have the right to veto.

They periodically exercise the right or threaten to do so when they have to consider proposals that are not in accordance with their interests or that of their allies.

"The veto sometimes has also been used for no accountability by some countries over crimes against humanity," Simon Adams said on behalf of several human rights organisations.

Adams added that these limits could be approved next year when the UN would celebrate its 70th anniversary. "The need for reform is unquestionable," he said.

Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Jose Antonio Meade described this issue as "fundamental" and stressed the fact that the proposal started from a country which has the right.

"Let's review and update our concept of the veto right," he said, and described the limit proposed by France as "clear and acceptable".

More than 20 representatives of different countries voiced their support for the initiative, with different nuances, convinced of the fact that reality has changed significantly since 1945 when the veto right was first established.

"Spain would like the full abolition of the veto," said Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Gonzalo de Benito, but acknowledged that there were difficulties to reach such a measure.

However, Russia and China showed no enthusiasm for the proposal.

Wang Min, China's UN deputy representative, invoked the rights of the "founding fathers" of the UN and said that the system was one of the "pillars" of the international ornganization.

"Resolutions cannot be passed without the support of all the permanent members," according to the Security Council.

A Russian representative to the UN raised doubts about how to determine the large-scale crimes which would be excluded from the right to veto.

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power regretted that the veto has been used to block the resolutions condemning the Syrian government and did not give any firm opinion on France's proposal.

At the end of the reunion, Meade said that the forum had served to provide "reflections" on the issue, and added that from now on the conclusions of the debate remained firm for further discussions.

--IANS/EFE

ab/vt