Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh gives an interview to the press (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) –Vietnam’s highest priority during itsterm as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for2020-2021 would be promoting multilateralism and compliance with internationallaw in addressing global challenges regarding peace and security, said a seniorofficial.
DeputyPrime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh made theaffirmation in an interview with the press after Vietnam was elected to theUNSC for the 2020-2021 term with 192 approval votes out of the 193 UN memberstates.
Minhsaid the UNSC is one of the main organs of the UN and has primaryresponsibility for global affairs, especially peace and security, and Vietnam’scontributions to the council would be in line with the UN’s agenda.
“Vietnamalso wants to leverage its past experience to resolve issues of great concern,such as post-conflict reconstruction, women and children in conflicts or dealingwith unexploded ordnance,” he said.
“Andof course, participating in the UN also means that we seek to contribute ourpart to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region and the world atlarge that is conducive to the country’s own development,” the Deputy PM added.
RegardingVietnam’s efforts to achieve the proud election results, Minh said the country’sdecision to join the UNSC is indeed significant, as it shows Vietnam’s improvedglobal standing and its commitment to global responsibilities as a member ofthe UN and the international community.
Vietnam’scandidature to the highest organ of the UN reflects its desire to contribute toone of the world’s most urgent matter, which is to maintain peace, stabilityand security, he stressed.
Vietnam’supcoming term in 2020-2021 will be the second after its very first stint inthe council in 2008-2009. Vietnam’s contributions and performance of theduties during the first time serving in the council have been widely recognisedand appreciated, which certainly helped the nation obtain high confidence fromother co🃏untries 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 tobe a “foregone conclusion”, this is a fruit of the country’s proactive efforts overthe last ten years to maintain Vietnam as the sole candidate for the entireAsia-Pacific region, he elaborated.
Accordingto the Deputy PM, it has to be said that competition is fierce between themember 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 evenafter 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 powerfulcountries in the region made moves to prepare for the election but with skilfulapproaches and measures, Vietnam has managed to persuade them, ensuring itsstatus as the sole candidature for the Asia-Pacific region. This serves as aclear demonstration of other countries’ trust in Vietnam’s full capabilities tohandle the duties as a member of the UNSC.
Onthe main challenges facing Vietnam asit assumes the role, Minh said in the UNSC, it is important that thefive permanent and the ten non-permanent members coordinate and cooperateeffectively to address issues of concern, and make sure that any issue putbefore the council receives unanimity in the best case scenario.
Accordingto the Deputy PM, at the UNSC, 90 percent of all issues on the table can beresolved if there is a consensus, which ensuresthat the implementation of the UNSC’s resolutions will be effective.If a resolution fails to achieve consensus or gets vetoed by a permanentcouncil member, that means there is a split of opinion amongst the members andthat is something Vietnam needs to keep in mind to avoid such cases. Vietnam’sduty is to connect the members of the council to build consensus at the highestlevel.
Thereare also issues that may force council members to take a stance, which means thatVietnam will need to be careful in its deliberations to arrive at a suitabledecision, he added.
Minh also noted that as Vietnam will also assume therotati🐎ng Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in2020, Vietnam will seek to further enhancethe cooperation between the UN, or the UNSC, with regional organisations,including ASEAN. This is also high on the UN’s agenda so when Vietnam takesthe leadership of ASEAN in 2020, the country will be in a great position topush for the realisation of this goal.
