United Nations Security Council

After going through eleven (11) amendments and twenty-two (22) minutes later after the pre-defined finish time of the committee, the United Nations Security Council entered into the voting procedure of Draft Resolution 1.1. 

With eleven (11) votes for the American-sponsored draft resolution passed. 

We congratulate the committee for their hard work and the United Kingdom delegation for their efforts for the reaching of a consensus. 

United Nations Security Council: Working towards a consensus or for national interests?

With two draft resolutions proposals on the table, which disagree in very few yet important points, the adoption of a resolution on the Security Council now seems extremely difficult yet not impossible. 

The United Kingdom Delegation expressed earlier their agreement to the American-sponsored draft resolution, and their disagreement to a clause that would support the re-election of the Permanent Five members, yet is open to discussion and their wish is to work harmoniously with all members towards a unified resolution. 

In addition, the Indian delegation stressed the importance of a unified resolution and underlined that reaching a consensus is not impossible as most differences on the two draft resolutions are about numbers of extra seats, permanent and semi-permanent seats. 

But is this that simple in practice? What is the importance of extra and permanent seats to different nations? 

Russia declared that they would not be in support of the Chinese draft resolution because they would never agree to the infamous clause about the re-election of the Permanent Five Members. 

At the same time, the Chinese delegation stated that the only draft resolution they could support would be the German one, because “it is very democratic”. 

However, this is not the case for all delegates. Earlier, the delegate of Italy asked Germany how exactly are they inclusive and care for the wellbeing of the world population when they prefer their national interests over it and they undermine the opinions of their allies. 

Today UNSC concludes on debate regarding the council’s reform

Today the United Nations Security Council is expected to conclude their debate on Restoring Stability and Pursuing the Reform of the Security Council. Until now, there are two (2) draft resolutions on the table, with main differences on the Chinese clause regarding the re-election of the Permanent Five, the preservation of the veto power, the number of the extra seats and the semi-permanent seats. Until now a consensus is not impossible but it needs close work between the states in order to set aside personal interests and work towards the wellbeing of the world population, as the Italian delegation remarked earlier this morning. 

The Guardian will be present in today’s debate and will provide any updates on the topic. 

UNSC Press Conference

Today the United Nations Security Council is on its second day of working into an attempt to reach a consensus on the topic of Restoring Stability and Pursuing the Reform of the Council. 

Earlier today a press conference was held in the Council’s Headquarters with many international press agencies present. 

Initially, the Peoples’ Republic of China underlined the importance of cooperation between developed and developing countries in order to move forward. They intend to work actively into the achievement of this goal. 

Interesting enough, the United States delegation in the meanwhile underlined that the Chinese clause is “borderline reckless” and it “poisons the current working climate”. “Such exotic ideas do not work” they stated.

Speaking of cooperation and collective work, the German delegation stated that they have been working along with all nations towards the achievement of a consensus, especially with France and China. 

When asked by a colleague regarding how can the veto power go together with democratic values, the Russian representative replied that the veto power is an excellent way to preserve balance, especially in military-related issues. 

The Guardian had the chance to ask the United Kingdom delegations to the Security Council about their role in ensuring fairness and their vision for a new, reformed UNSC. They responded that they envision a Security Council with a raised number of both permanent and non-permanent members. For the UK, the ideal Security Council would consist of twenty-five (25) members. 

UNEA meeting: COVID-19 effects on environment, teamwork and the USA objection

The Guardian today has been watching the debates of the United Nations Environmental Agency, regarding the issue of the effect of COVID-19 to the environment. In the committee there is an atmosphere of cooperation and harmonic teamwork. Currently, there are two (2) working papers on the table without any major disagreements. The content of the working papers is similar, without any substantial differences, and during a consultation of the whole it was suggested by many delegations, especially the one of Costa Rica that the two working papers should be merged together as one draft resolution. There are some disagreements by the United States of America delegation, mainly regarding the financial assets contributions into the programme. The US delegate confirmed that they are working closely with the German delegation in order to reach a conclusion that pleases both sides. 

The United Kingdom as a defendant in the Court of Justice of the European Union over NHS contact tracking app

Today the Guardian has gained exclusive access to the hearing of the case European Commission v United Kingdom over the UK Covid tracking mobile application known as the NHSX. 

According to the Commission, the United Kingdom tracking application, (the use of which is compulsory for non-UK citizens that live in or visit the country during the pandemic) is collecting a large amount of information, failing the test of necessity when it comes to following the GDPR regulations. They claim that the United Kingdom have failed to provide the commission with a report about the necessity and the detailed use of such information. 

The United Kingdom, on the other side is claiming that the NHSX application is in full compliance with the GDPR rules, the amount of data stored are under full pseudonimization and is only the absolutely necessary amount of information required. 

Updates will follow