Elections of Chairs of Subsidiary Bodies
Expected Council Action
In January, the Security Council will elect chairs and vice-chairs of its subsidiary bodies. Following an informal practice led by the permanent members, which has developed in the Council over the years, those positions are usually held by elected members. There are currently 13 Security Council subsidiary bodies with vacant chair positions, following the end of the terms of Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda.
Background
The subsidiary bodies with vacant chair positions are:
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the Security Council Sanctions Committee concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and individuals and entities associated with those organisations (resolution 1267 (1999))—vacated by Austria;
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the Security Council Committee concerning counter-terrorism and its financing (resolution 1373 (2001))—vacated by Turkey;
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the Security Council Committee concerning non-state actors and weapons of mass destruction (resolution 1540 (2004))—vacated by Mexico;
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the Security Council Sanctions Committee concerning the Sudan (resolution 1591 (2005))—vacated by Austria;
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the Security Council Sanctions Committee concerning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (resolution 1718 (2006))—vacated by Turkey;
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the Security Council Sanctions Committee concerning Iran (resolution 1737 (2006))—vacated by Japan;
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the Working Group on individuals, groups or entities involved in or associated with terrorist activities and possible compensation for their victims (resolution 1566 (2004))—vacated by Turkey;
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the Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations—vacated by Japan;
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the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict—vacated by Mexico;
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the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals—vacated by Austria;
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the Informal Working Group on Documentation and other Procedural Questions—vacated by Japan; and
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the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa—vacated by Uganda.
In addition, two elected members will be nominated by the Council to participate in the Organisational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission for a one-year term starting on 1 January. (Seven Council members, including the permanent members on a permanent basis, are members of the Organisational Committee.)
Electoral Process
The detailed process for election of the chairs and vice-chairs of the Council’s subsidiary bodies is not codified in any way. Rather, with time the Council has developed a sometimes easy and sometimes complicated informal practice. Little is publicised about the fine points of this practice. Generally the permanent members have taken the lead initially inquiring among the elected members about their preferences and reservations, regarding the various vacant positions within the bureaux of the subsidiary bodies. After that, the permanent members have often then consulted among themselves to establish their own preferences with respect to the allocation of chairs and vice-chairs, and these have been communicated to elected members, usually bilaterally rather than collectively. Finally, one of the permanent members initiates a Council decision on the distribution. The decision is then formalised in a note with a document number made public by the president of the Security Council. Publicising the appointment of the subsidiary bodies’ bureaux is now expected by virtue of note S/1998/1016 of 30 October 1998 by the president of the Security Council, on improving the working methods of the Security Council.
Council Dynamics
Increasingly over the years, elected Council members have expressed reservations and sometimes outright irritation about the Council’s practice in selecting new bureaux for subsidiary bodies. Most elected members would like the process to be more inclusive, and for it to be conducted collectively and with greater transparency. Some members have said they would have preferred a finalisation of the agreed chairs and vice-chairs of the various subsidiary bodies before the commencement of their term on the Council, to enable them to prepare in advance for their new responsibilities, including by consulting with their predecessors who may no longer be in New York if appointments are only decided in January.
In 2010, it seems that an innovation has been the decision by the P5 that the informal selection process should be led by China. The permanent members seem to have used one of their members as an informal coordinator of P5 positions on Security Council affairs and this member has tended to take the lead also for coordinating the process of appointing new bureaux for subsidiary bodies. According to the permanent members, the role of coordinator shifts among the P5 every three months or so, in an order agreed among the permanent members, and it is by virtue of this practice that China currently has the lead on the question of subsidiary bodies.
Some elected members have expressed the view that under China’s leadership the process has been more accommodating this year to elected members and they have felt their views were being better consolidated by the permanent members of the Council. However, not all elected members see the process for 2011 positively. Some say it has been virtually identical to that of previous years.
Several factors in 2011 add to the complexity of deciding on subsidiary bodies. First, several of the countries joining the Council (Germany, India and South Africa) have political aspirations of becoming permanent members of the Council. Two other states vying for such a position are already in the Council (Brazil and Nigeria). It is unclear whether these elected members may try to test the boundaries of the existing informal process, thus potentially complicating the negotiations for the appointment of the bureaux of the subsidiary bodies. In addition, permanent members have concerns that in 2011, vacant positions for chairmanship include in some of the most sensitive and high profile subsidiary bodies of the Council (e.g., the Sanctions Committee concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and the Sanctions Committee concerning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).
At press time, the distribution of chairs and vice-chairs for 2011 had yet to be finalised.
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