Opening Up Security Council Consultations.

The Member States of the United Nations have conferrred upon the Security Council the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and have agreed that the Council acts on their behalf when carrying out its duties (Art. 24 (1) of the United Nations Charter). The devolution of power is unique and unprecedented: nowhere else in the Charter have Member States entrusted a select few of their number with the responsibility for decision-making, in what is arguably the most vital area of our collective activity. Nor is there any other area in which all Member States have agreed to carry out the decisions of those few so selected.

In Canada's view, the power entrusted to the Security Council by Member States comes with the obligation of assuring that Council decisions attract the widest possible support among the United Nations membership. Only in this way can effective implementation of these decisions be ensured. Without such compliance by the general membership of the United Nations, the credibility and effectiveness of the Council will fade away, and with it mankind's best attempt at collective security decision-making.

Therefore, Council members must not only ensure that non-members remain well-seized of the Council's activities, but must also create opportunities for non-members to present their views to the Council before formal decisions are taken. The latter is particularly important for those non-members directly involved and affected by matters before the Council, as provided for in Articles 31 and 32 of the Charter.

To achieve this, Council members need to move away from closed, secretive, behind-the-scenes deliberations and decision-making that characterize today's Council toward a more open and transparent process. In our view, greater transparency is tantamount to greater effectiveness. Much could be gained by breaking the habit of recent years' automatic recourse to informal consultations to discuss issues that could more usefully and effectively be dealt with in formal meetings of the Council, open to all Members and Observers of the United Nations.

This increased use of open meetings of the Council would create more opportunities for non-members to express their views on issues of which the Council is seized. Its deliberations only stand to benefit from the widest possible exchange of ideas, particularly when they originate from those who must ultimately give effect to the Council's decisions.

On the other hand, we do not dispute the need and necessity from time to time of the Council meeting behind closed doors to negotiate sensitive issues. The informality and privacy of informal Council consultations, as well as the intimacy and collegiality created in such a context, can be conducive to compromise and innovative solutions. However, the advantages of informal consultations should not be used as arguments to circumvent the principles of consultation enshrined in the Charter (Articles 31 and 32).

The need to expand the scope of information available to Council members in their consultations was the impetus behind the creation of the Arria Formula a few years ago. The Arria Formula--namesake of the former Representative of Venezuela in the Security Council during the term 1992-1993--was created as a pragmatic procedure to enable Council members, as a group, to obtain direct information and assessments from non-State actors (individuals, organizations or institutions) that could, because of their responsibilities or influence, contribute to a better understanding of the situation under consideration. Such exchanges provide vital and unique insights that help Council members move closer to a peaceful resolution of the situation. Exchanges under the Arria Formula are normally at the discretion of the President of the Council and with the authorization of its members. The practice has been for these informal exchanges to take place outside the Council's usual meeting rooms.

Canada believes that the Council should make more use of the Arria Formula meetings in order to increase its interaction with non-State actors who have something to contribute to issues on the Council agenda. However, we also believe that, as the Permanent Representative of Venezuela recently clarified, "the Arria Formula should be used in accordance with its original concept and should not be invoked in order to receive representatives of countries which are full Members of the United Nations" (letters dated 15 March 1999 from the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council).

When there is a recognized need to engage in consultations with representatives of Member States, the Council should implement the principles of consultations set out in the UN Charter. In exceptional cases where private consultations with Member States would facilitate he resolution of an issue, members of the Council, in Canada's view, should use the same pragmatic vision hat saw the creation of the Arria Formula and invite the informal participation of interested Member States in their discussions.

Regardless of how many consultations and meetings the Council holds in full view of the wider United Nations membership, there will always be a need for more private, intimate meetings of its members. Canada does not dispute this. We are convinced that much of the daily business of the Council, however, could usefully be dealt with in open session, to the advantage of the broader United Nations membership and to the direct benefit of the Council's credibility, relevance and effectiveness. When this proves impossible, practical solutions should be found to strike an efficient balance between, for example, openness and secrecy, consultation and rapid reaction, and formality and familiarity.

Ambassador Robert Fowler Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations

'An Opportunity for Meaningful Dialogue'

Informal consultations are an important part of the practice of the Security Council. While they do not constitute "meetings of the Security Council" in the formal sense, they certainly resemble the form of organized meetings. There is an agenda, published in the UN Journal on a daily basis, a list of speakers, an order of proceeding and--very often, although not necessarily after consideration of every item--"A statement to the Press", which the President reads out in front of correspondents immediately after the closed informal consultations of, the Council. It is interesting that the Governments concerned take these statements to the press very seriously even though the press itself does not always pay due attention to them. Statement seldom appear in the press and when they do, they are often not quoted extensively. Nevertheless, the political importance of statements to the press is relevant.

A particular aspect of Security Council consultations is known as the "Arria Formula meetings". Named after former Venezuelan Ambassador Diego Arria, who introduced this practice in 1993, these meetings provide an opportunity for members of the Security Council to meet with representatives of States, regional organizations and other personalities, and to discuss, very informally and without any record, issues of interest to the Council. These meetings are useful for the members of the Council and for the participating representatives of the UN Member States, regional and other organizations or other personalities as they can provide additional insights and an idea about the thinking in the Security Council. The discreet and informal nature of the Arria Formula meetings, which are not announced publicly and usually take place in Room VII in the basement of the UN building in New York City, may be seen as an insufficient courtesy to the visiting personalities. Nevertheless, in my opinion, at least such shortcomings are outweighted by the opportunity for discreet and meaningful dialogue.

It seems to me that the practice of the Arria Formula meetings could be expanded further. Three ideas come to mind. In some cases, the nature of the needs requires certain periodicity of the meetings between Security Council members and the relevant representatives. This will be the case when the Arria Formula meetings address protracted conflicts and other situations which required periodical assessment based upon impacts from outside the Council or the UN Secretary.

The second idea relates to the Council's cooperation with the non-governmental organizations (NGOs). At present, that cooperation is still only rudimentary. The Arria Formula meetings could provide a useful informal atmosphere to discuss humanitarian problems, human rights issues and other issues of concern to the relevant NGOs, including suggestions on the possible political initiatives which the Council might take, with a view to addressing various situations on its agenda effectively.

Finally, the Arria Formula may provide a framework for communication between "Groups of Friends of the Secretary-General" and the Security Council. The "Groups of Friends" have become increasingly influential in dealing with the implementation of Council resolutions. Therefore, it would seem natural to ensure effective, informal and productive communication between them and all the members of the Council.

Ambassador Danilo Turk Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations.