Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun (File photo)
MANILA – A lawmaker at the House of Representatives has backed President Rodrigo Duterte's call for reforms in the United Nations to effectively address the challenges posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun suggested that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) study and recommend the increase in the number of permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) with veto power.
"The composition of the so-called Permanent Members is a vestige of the world's colonial past. It does not reflect the current state of global affairs and neither does it embody the vision of the peoples of the world for the collective destiny of humankind," Fortun said on Wednesday.
Duterte, in his remarks before the UN General Assembly, stressed the need to act on long-standing recommendations to improve the Security Council’s composition and working methods.
Duterte said that it could not be "business as usual" for the UN if it would want to resolve existing and future challenges.
“Let us strengthen it so it can fully deliver its mandate to maintain peace and security, uphold justice and human rights, and promote freedom and social progress for all,” Duterte said. " Let us empower UN – reform it – to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow."
Fortun noted that the UN currently has 193 members from the original 51 members back in 1945, but the number of permanent members with veto power remains at five, namely: China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.
He said the UNSC total membership remains at 15, of which 10 do not have veto power.
Fortun said the DFA can recommend that the UNSC members with veto power be increased by at least nine from the current five.
"Three more countries to represent Asia. Three Member-States to represent Africa. Three countries to represent South America. The three positions for Asia can be apportioned this way: one for the Pacific Islands; one for East Asia and Southeast Asia; and one for the Middle East," he said.
The Agusan del Sur lawmaker also suggested that the UNSC total membership could be expanded to 20 or 25 from the current 15.
"This way the rights of Member-States and peoples around the world would be equitably represented in the UNSC," he said.
Aside from the call for UN reforms, Fortun also hailed Duterte’s categorical assertion right before the UN General Assembly of the country’s victory at The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration “on our long-standing territorial dispute with China”.
"This was consistent with his pronouncements a week ago that maritime disputes like this should be resolved peacefully in adherence to international law, the UNCLOS and pertinent international instruments," Fortun said.
Duterte said the arbitral ruling “is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish, or abandon”.
With Duterte invoking the arbitral award that invalidates China’s massive maritime claims in the South China Sea, Fortun said he finds “brighter rays of hope” that more countries will support the Philippines “because they already see us asserting our rights and fighting for what is rightfully ours”. (PNA)
