Ambassador Lauro L. Baja Jr., the country's permanent representative to the United Nations, informed Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia D. Albert that the members of the Philippine delegation to the Security Council are ready to assume the added responsibilities that come with being a member of the most important decision-making organ of the UN.
"Now that we have been placed in an elevated status in the United Nations and in the international community, the Philippine delegation is now ready to pursue with greater vigor and determination Philippine foreign policy objectives and project Philippine values in the Security Council," Baja said.
"We will seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a difference in the Security Council and to promote the Filipino as a global citizen," Baja, who was handpicked by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the late Secretary of Foreign Affairs Blas F. Ople to spearhead Philippine participation in the Security Council, said.
The Security Council is considered the most important policy-making body in the UN because it is the only organ whose decisions are enforceable and binding among member-countries.
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
The Philippines, along with Algeria, Benin, Brazil, and Romania, was formally elected as a non-permanent member of the Council by the UN General Assembly in October. The five will occupy for two years the seats to be vacated by the five outgoing non-permanent members Bulgaria, Cameroon, Guinea, Mexico, and Syria.
Aside from the permanent members - the United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom, which are collectively known as the P-5, the five other non-permanent members, which together with the other five new members are known as the E-10, are Angola, Chile, Germany, Pakistan, and Spain.
"We approach our membership with confidence and optimism," Baja said. "Most important, the President has promised full support to the delegation."
Baja said that members of the Philippine delegation have been conducting extensive consultations with the P-5 as well as the current, outgoing, and incoming members of the E-10.
Philippine diplomats also had held meetings with the Security Council Secretariat and with non-government organizations with special relations with the Council. Baja has held consultations with members of the ASEAN and the Asian Group in the UN.
As part of the preparations for its assumption of membership, the Philippines was also allowed by the Security Council Secretariat to sit in and observe the formal and informal meetings of the Council.
When it formally takes its seat, the Philippines is expected to help find solutions to a widerange of major issues that are in the agenda of the Security Council, particularly Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Kosovo, and Africa.
"Our participation will be open-minded, constructive, and resolute," Baja said in describing the job ahead. "We are not a small developing country. We are big in manpower, rich in resources, and richer in adherence to the values of democracy, human rights, justice, and bayanihan (cooperation)."
According to Baja, Philippine participation in the Security Council will be guided by the framework and principles laid down by President Arroyo during her visit to the United Nations in September.
These are:
- The principle of collective security established under the UN Charter should be observed.
- The Security Council should maintain and pursue a multilateral approach towards the performance of its primary role of maintaining international peace and security.
- The observance of the rule of law is of paramount importance in the maintenance of international peace and security. (David Cagahastian)
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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