- Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council - Item 125 Continuation of the debate on the item
Continuation of the debate on the item
🇳🇦 Namibia, 🇰🇵 Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 🇯🇵 Japan
Thank you, Master President. I am taking the floor in what my delegation would call the right of participation following the removal from the list of speakers at quarter to one this afternoon without proper consultation after having been inscribed and listed to participate in this debate in our national capacity. Master President, NABIA aligns itself with a statement delivered by the on behalf of the African group. Nibia welcomes the reappointment of the permanent representative of the state of Kuwait. And the permanent representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as co-chairs of the intergovernmental negotiations. Mr. President, earlier this year, the African group presented the African Union model for Security Council reform, which represents not only the maturity of our continental consensus and the historic milestone for Africa's quest for equitable representation within the United Nations system, but also a demonstration. Of the continent's political unity, seriousness, and readiness to engage constructively with a view to correcting the historical injustice that has excluded Africa from permanent representation. It also signifies Africa's determination to move the reform process from general declarations to support of support towards concrete and actionable outcomes. The African reform model gives practical expression. Of the Ezolini consensus and the Sierte Declaration, which remain the sole legitimate framework of articulating Africa's position in the intergovernmental negotiations on the UN Security Council reform. It offers a coherent, comprehensive, and forward looking proposal that addresses the long standing historical injustice suffered by Africa that has been without representation in a permanent category of the councils on the Council, despite constituting. The largest regional grouping in the United Nations and being subject to the significant proportion of the Council's agenda. Mr. President, the Pact for the Future adopted in September 2024 leaves no room for ambiguity. Africa must be treated as a special case and a priority in Security Council reform. The logical consequence of that commitment is that Africa's permanent and increased representation. Must remain central to any reform outcome and cannot be subordinated to competing interests or alternative arrangements. Any reform that seeks legitimacy and sustainability must respect and accommodate Africa's collective position and address the very historical injustice the organization has pledged to correct. Since the adoption of the Pact for the Future. Every President of the United Nations General Assembly has been supportive of his full implementation, and we equally commend the tremendous efforts of the current PGA to advance Africa's cause for permanent representation in the UN Security Council. In conclusion, Mr. President, Namibia calls for the concrete actions to finally translate this unwavering and consequential support into tangible progress. I thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. President, thank you for giving me the floor. Japan has neither the moral justification nor the qualifications to look over the position of permanent member of the UN Security Council. The remark made by the Japanese representative that Japan is a peace-loving nation and has contributed to world peace is fundamentally at odds with Japan's past actions. The greatest crimes of all time committed by Imperial Japan, inflicting immeasurable disaster and suffering upon the peoples of my country and other Asian nations are an undeniable historical fact which has already been acknowledged by the world at large. Japan is a country that has failed to properly reflect on its war crimes that destroyed peace in Asia and the world during the first half of the twentieth century and resulted in the mass slaughter of people in many nations. More than eighty years have passed since since its defeat, yet Japan still refuses to offer a sincere apology or provide reparations for its past acts of aggression. Instead, the Japanese authorities are glorifying past crimes, elevating the masterminds of aggression to the status of heroes, and brazenly engaging in acts of paying homage to the specters of militarism, all in full view of the world. It is utterly absurd for a nation that committed grave crimes against humanity in the past and shows no remorse whatsoever to hold the position of responsibility within the United Nations. Meanwhile, under the easy of the United States, Japan is racing down the path of a new militarism, openly revealing its true sinister nature as the very entity that is jeopardizing peace in the Asia-Pacific region. They are accelerating moves toward rearmament, including the undesirable amendment of the peace constitution, the abandonment of the exclusively defense oriented policy. The restructuring of military apparatuses and the expansion of military capabilities. Such actions stand in complete contradiction to the obligations incumbent upon a defeated nation and an enemy state and represent both a shameless disregard for the UN Charter and a grave challenge to the world peace. To give just one example, Japan has already become a permanent member of the permanent council of the League of Nations, which was organized after the end of World War I. As a permanent member of the League of Nations, an organization that professed to stand for international peace and security, Japan instigated the Manchurian instant in China and threw itself into a frenzied war of aggression on the Asian continent, ultimately forcing humanity to endure the horrific catastrophe of the Second World War. History teaches us that the inclusion of Japan in the international body tasked with addressing global peace and security would not contribute to the maintenance of peace, but rather cause grave harm. Therefore, it is in the interest of international community security. To uphold the enemy state clauses stipulated in the UN Charter and to thoroughly thwart Japan's ambitions to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Japan must attend to its own responsibilities, namely making reparations for its past crimes and abandoning its schemes to rearmament and remilitarization. The mercantile mindset that a permanent seat of the UN Security Council can be bought with money only serves to expose Japan's anachronistic obsession. My delegation strongly urges Japan to earnestly reflect upon its crime-leden past and embark upon the path of genuine repentance rather than chasing unattainable pike dreams. Thank you, Mr. President. Je donne maintenant la part,
Thank you, Mr. President. I will not repeat what was mentioned in our statement earlier. Japan has regarded the fact of history with humility and sincerely addressed various issues for over 80 years since the end of World War II. Having served as a non permanent member of the UN Security Council twelve times over the last 70 years since joining the UN, as well as having been as one of the most important financial contributors. Japan has actively contributed to international peace and security. Japan will continue such contributions as a responsible member state of the United Nations. I thank you. je donne I give the floor once again to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the floor again. History can never be rewritten, and it certainly cannot be erased. No matter how much the Japanese authorities engage in word games and linguistic manipulation, resorting to all sorts of tricks to conceal their past crimes and their militarization moves, they can never escape responsibility for their egregious crimes against humanity. Such actions only serve to further highlight their true colours, a desire to deny a history stained with thin and to repeat it. My delegation strongly urges Japan to fulfill the unavoidable moral responsibilities and international legal obligations it bears toward the era and humanity as a member of the international community through concrete actions rather than mere words. Thank you, Mr. President. Excellence, Excellences,
Thank you, Mr. President. I will not repeat what was mentioned in my statement earlier. Japan will continue contributions as a responsible member state of the United Nations. I thank you. l'Assemblée à chaque fois. The Assembly has thus concluded. At this stage of its consideration of agenda item 125, the meeting is adjourned.
Verbatim from the transcript. A reply is identified from its own words, the Chair's grant, or its place in the right-of-reply sequence; delegations and addressees follow the transcript's attribution.