By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 11 -- The battle for UN Security Council seats between Germany, Portugal and Canada reached its final stage on Monday night, with the Ambassadors of all three countries chatting up different parts of the crowd at South Africa's de facto victory party.
South Africa, India and Colombia are running unopposed, though Colombia does not have the endorsement of its regional group. But for the Western European and Other States Group, there are only two seats for the three above named candidates.
Each has taken Ambassadors, notably from Africa, on junket like vacations. But it is a secret ballot and few on Monday night would predict the outcome.
What were offered instead were theories. Canada's theory is that developing countries won't want two more European countries on the Council to join the UK and France.
Others point to Portugal's more progressive politics -- it's “almost a developing country,” one G-77 member told Inner City Press, seeming to refer to politics rather than Portugal's battered economy.
A well place Ambassador told Inner City Press that this WEOG election will show to where it is more important to direct advocacy, a country's Mission to the UN in New York, or foreign minister back in the capital.
Monday at noon, Ion Botnaru of the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management briefed the press about the rules of procedures for Tuesday's vote. He said that the African and Asian Groups had a formal agreement that of each two vacancies, one should go to each continent.
Inner City Press asked Botnaru about Canada's theory that there is an unwritten rule that in WEOG, only one seats goes to Europe, the other, to Other. Botnaru said he's aware of no rule to that effect. But still the pitch is made.
Ironically, left leaning Portugal may pay for the arrogance of the EU's campaign for special speaking rights, and Sweden's drive-by attack on ten countries' human rights records during the General Debate.
A reporter trashed Germany for excluding the media from its reception on Monday night, unlike South African. Current Swiss President of the GA Joseph Deiss was seen heading to the Germany reception at 6:30, but he never showed up at the South Africans.
Whatever happens in the Western European and Other states Group, with the election India and South Africa to join Brazil on the Council, major powers which want permanent seats will be on the Council. While one might hope they'd band together and be more transparent, do things in a different way, the Permanent Representative of one of these countries argued to Inner City Press on Monday that the three will try to show they can get along with the P-5, that they are not “mavericks.”
But what if the UN needs more mavericks? To be continued.
Footnote: some old UN hands reminisce about Portugal's victory in the 1996 over Australia, whose Permanent Representative Richard Butler held a victory press conference before actually winning. When Portugal and its Permanent Representative Antonio Monterio beat Canada, Butler was called to account, and resurfaced at UNSCOM. Given Lawrence Cannon's Tuesday press conference, can we be expected to one day inspect Myanmar for nuclear weapons? Just asking.
Australia is now on record as running in 2013, and already counting votes...
