War on terror needs more UN seats for Islam: Juwono

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A major restructuring of the United Nations Security Council, to include more Muslim countries, would be beneficial in the global war against terrorism, international relations professor Juwono Sudarsono said on Tuesday.

Juwono, from the University of Indonesia, proposed that, in order to enhance the world's effectiveness in combating terror, the UN Security Council needed to reserve more seats for predominantly Muslim countries as non-permanent members.

"Muslim countries, which have so far been under-represented in the Security Council, must be incorporated in the council to boost the global war against terrorism," Juwono told reporters after addressing a seminar on terrorism here.

The seminar, held in commemoration of the 57th Anniversary of the United Nations, entitled Shared Responsibility in Combating Terrorism: Post Bali Tragedy.

Juwono suggested that the security council add five countries to its existing 10 non-permanent members, with a priority for those five seats to be given to predominantly-Muslim countries or regions which were under-represented in the Security Council.

"Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Egypt or Brazil would be ideal to fill the additional seats," said Juwono, saying that the five were also prominent in terms of population.

The council has five permanent members with veto rights and has played a very active role in the world's security affairs. Its decisions often bind all UN member countries.

The five permanent members are the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. The 10 non-permanent members (currently, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia, Guinea, Ireland, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Singapore and Syria) are voted in every two years, based on continental and regional groupings as well as their overall contribution to international peace and security.

Juwono said the restructuring would provide a sense that Muslim countries were involved in the war against terrorism.

The involvement of Muslim countries in the war against terrorism would also enhance their commitment to it, he added.

"Besides, it would ease suspicions that Muslim countries, and developing countries, were reduced to peripheral roles on the Security Council," said Juwono, a former minister of defense.

The permanent membership is stipulated in the UN's 1948 founding charter, and it would require some effort to change the charter.

The five UN Security Council permanent members indeed control huge financial and military resources, and therefore, indeed wield influential power in international relations.

In order to curb the domination by the permanent members in the decision making process in the Security Council, the rest of UN members must take strategic steps, including to wage a campaign to erode the permanent members' exclusive veto rights, he said.

"For example, a new regulation must rule that the veto rights could only be taken if there is approval by three-fourths of the members of the UN," Juwono proposed.