Vietnam pursues multilateralism, consensus at UNSC: Deputy PM
Hanoi (VNA) –
Vietnam’s highest priority during its
term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for
2020-2021 would be promoting multilateralism and compliance with international
law in addressing global challenges regarding peace and security, said a senior
official.
Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh made the
affirmation in an interview with the press after Vietnam was elected to the
UNSC for the 2020-2021 term with 192 approval votes out of the 193 UN member
states.
Minh
said the UNSC is one of the main organs of the UN and has primary
responsibility for global affairs, especially peace and security, and Vietnam’s
contributions to the council would be in line with the UN’s agenda.
“Vietnam
also wants to leverage its past experience to resolve issues of great concern,
such as post-conflict reconstruction, women and children in conflicts or dealing
with unexploded ordnance,” he said.
“And
of course, participating in the UN also means that we seek to contribute our
part to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region and the world at
large that is conducive to the country’s own development,” the Deputy PM added.
Regarding
Vietnam’s efforts to achieve the proud election results, Minh said the country’s
decision to join the UNSC is indeed significant, as it shows Vietnam’s improved
global standing and its commitment to global responsibilities as a member of
the UN and the international community.
Vietnam’s
candidature to the highest organ of the UN reflects its desire to contribute to
one of the world’s most urgent matter, which is to maintain peace, stability
and security, he stressed.
Vietnam’s
upcoming term in 2020-2021 will be the second after its very first stint in
the council in 2008-2009. Vietnam’s contributions and performance of the
duties during the first time serving in the council have been widely recognised
and appreciated, which certainly helped the nation obtain high confidence from
other countries as Vietnam ran for the position for the second time,
evidenced by the landslide vote.
However,
Vietnam’s candidature and eventual election to the UNSC must not be thought to
be a “foregone conclusion”, this is a fruit of the country’s proactive efforts over
the last ten years to maintain Vietnam as the sole candidate for the entire
Asia-Pacific region, he elaborated.
According
to the Deputy PM, it has to be said that competition is fierce between the
member countries from the same group in running for a seat in the council.
There was a time when no country received the required number of votes even
after 140 rounds to represent the group of countries to be elected to the council.
Over the past ten years, of course there were times when a few powerful
countries in the region made moves to prepare for the election but with skilful
approaches and measures, Vietnam has managed to persuade them, ensuring its
status as the sole candidature for the Asia-Pacific region. This serves as a
clear demonstration of other countries’ trust in Vietnam’s full capabilities to
handle the duties as a member of the UNSC.
On
the main challenges facing Vietnam as
it assumes the role, Minh said in the UNSC, it is important that the
five permanent and the ten non-permanent members coordinate and cooperate
effectively to address issues of concern, and make sure that any issue put
before the council receives unanimity in the best case scenario.
According
to the Deputy PM, at the UNSC, 90 percent of all issues on the table can be
resolved if there is a consensus, which ensures
that the implementation of the UNSC’s resolutions will be effective.
If a resolution fails to achieve consensus or gets vetoed by a permanent
council member, that means there is a split of opinion amongst the members and
that is something Vietnam needs to keep in mind to avoid such cases. Vietnam’s
duty is to connect the members of the council to build consensus at the highest
level.
There
are also issues that may force council members to take a stance, which means that
Vietnam will need to be careful in its deliberations to arrive at a suitable
decision, he added.
Minh also noted that as Vietnam will also assume the
rotating Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in
2020, Vietnam will seek to further enhance
the cooperation between the UN, or the UNSC, with regional organisations,
including ASEAN. This is also high on the UN’s agenda so when Vietnam takes
the leadership of ASEAN in 2020, the country will be in a great position to
push for the realisation of this goal.
Of course, 2020 will surely be a busy and challenging year for Vietnam, as it will undertake the role of ASEAN chair and the rotating presidency of the UNSC from the beginning of the next year, he concluded.-VNA