USA: "We will support the reform that will reach consensus."

Yesterday, our editorial received another statement by permanent representative of United States of America, Ms. Urška Učakar. We already reported about joint statement made by delegations of UK and USA this week, in which they expressed some regret and disappointment due to non-inclusiveness in the negotiation process. In a statement that you can read bellow, Ms. Učakar explains their position on Security Council reform in more detail. They pointed out that they will support expansion of membership that will enjoy consensus and will vote for changes of working methods, which will improve Council’s effectiveness, transparency and accountability.

"We would like to emphasize that a quick and irrational decision might do more harm than good," is written in the first paragraph of media statement. USA thinks that any reform of Security Council should enjoy consensus, otherwise it will not reach desired goals of transparency, efficiency and fair representation. "USA will support an expansion of membership, but this has to be country specific and proportional amongst regions," is she explaining further. According to her, candidates for new permanent seat must have ability to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security.

"Countries that might become permanent members must have a history of political stability, deployable military and civilian capabilities together with the willingness to use them with UNSC resolutions, a track record on UN financial contributions, a firm stand on the usage of the Chapter VII. of the UN Charter, ability to cooperate diplomatically and a record of participation in global security regimes and solutions."

She repeated once again, that USA will not accept any change of current veto structure, because this can lead to inefficient Council. "United States strongly support changes in the working methods, which will improve Council’s effectiveness, transparency and accountability," she comments the propositions about reforming the working methods. In the last part of the statement, she concludes that their delegation is ready to talk further with other states, because the consensus on SC reform has not been reached yet.

Luka Kavčič

Bellow you can read the original version of statement:

United States of America remain committed to the United Nations and are therefore certain that a reform of the Security Council is needed. However, due to several obstacles in the negotiation process, we would like to emphasize that a quick and irrational decision might do more harm than good. Despite our commitment to a Council that is more transparent, efficient and representative, we are convinced that this reform must enjoy consensus and support among Member States.

United States of America support a modest reform in membership and changes in the cooperation between the Council and the General Assembly. USA will therefore support an expansion of membership, but this has to be country specific and proportional amongst regions.

Enlargement cannot diminish Council’s effectiveness. Candidates for permanent membership must be judged on their ability to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security. Any expansion proposals must accommodate charter requirements for ratification and must name specific countries. USA will not support any kind of modification of the veto structure or a proposal that includes veto powers for any new member.

Our most important policy objective is to prevent an inefficient council, which can be done through a modest expansion and membership of reliable States. Countries that might become permanent members must have a history of political stability, deployable military and civilian capabilities together with the willingness to use them with UNSC resolutions, a track record on UN financial contributions, a firm stand on the usage of the Chapter VII. of the UN Charter, ability to cooperate diplomatically and a record of participation in global security regimes and solutions. We must keep in mind that the final idea of this reform is to improve the Council and this can only be done through inclusive negotiations, taking into account opinions of all States, their perspectives and concerns and last but not least, contribution of each candidate to the international peace and security.

United States strongly support changes in the working methods, which will improve Council’s effectiveness, transparency and accountability. The annual report of the Security Council provides all Member States with a transparent and comprehensive review of its work. USA aspires to facilitate the exchange of information and enhancement of cooperation between the two co-equal principal organs of the UN. In order to achieve this, USA proposes a different reporting procedure, where General Assembly would receive more than only one annual report.

Given the fact that no proposal has so far enjoyed consensus among all the Members, we are ready to further discuss the matter in order to eventually reach an agreement. We feel bound to continue the work on UN goals, values and missions. We are committed to the organization and take seriously the importance of making sure that all Member States are appropriately involved and informed. 

Urška Učakar

Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations

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3 Days Before the Simulation: Improve Your Negotiating Skills

In the light of waiting and preparing on Thursday's first GA session, we have written a series of articles on different topics.

Negotiations are a huge part of achieving your goals in the General Assembly. No matter how small the state you’re representing is – or how much it lacks power, you can always turn the negotiations for your benefit. As our professor Svetličič said last year at the lectures – “power isn’t just money. Power is also the ability to articulate and convince.”

But how well are you able to negotiate? We know that most of you have been through the lectures of “Negotiations” last year at the faculty, but maybe you will need to refresh your memory a bit? We collected some pieces of advice from experts on negotiating!

»Everything is negotiable. Whether or not the negotiation is easy is another thing.« (C. Fisher)

1. Preparation is key.

DEFINE YOUR GOALS
If you are negotiating with someone, you probably have a goal that you need to achieve. What is that goal? Define it well and look out of the box – is there some alternative goal that you could also go for if plan B is needed?

RESEARCH
Know your negotiating party well. Make a background check and get to know the other party's interests. You need to distinguish between your negotiating party’s interest in position. Position in something that he/she wants, something that he/she argues for. But WHY? What is the underlying motivation behind that position? To find that out you need to do an in-depth research.
Research is also important because knowing your opponent and his/her personality is key – what are his/her weaknesses, his/her strengths?

Keep in mind – your opponent might do the same. So make sure you also know your weaknesses and strengths. Try to avoid situations where your weaknesses might harm the negotiation process.

SCENARIO
Prepare a scenario of the negotations process and predict possible obstacles, opportunities and outcomes.

And most important – make sure all your preparations proceed in the language that will be used throughout the whole negotiation process.

“In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” (C. L Karrass)

2. Prepare your BATNA.

You need to determine your BATNA (Best Alternative To Negotiate An Agreement) before the negotiations start. With your BATNA you will measure how successful you were. You need to pick the best BATNA and you also need to know your opponent's BATNA. Do not tell your BATNA to your opponent until it is absolutely necessary – when the negotiations are stuck.

»Diplomacy: the ability to tell someone to go to hell so that he'll look forward to making the trip.« ;-)

3. Negotation process: Listen. Communicate.

»Half of negotiation is listening,« said our prof. Svetličič last year. Prove to your opponent that you are listening to him – repeat his words, ask him something. When talking, use less aggressive terminology. Instead of »suggesting« something, »offer a suggestion«. Deliver a compliment to ease up the atmosphere.

Try to listen to the opponent’s wishes and interests and see if they can meet with yours to make a compromise. Don’t forget: your goal is to leave the negotiations with a favourable agreement in your hands. And make sure the solution fits the opponent too, otherwise he/she might not want to implement it later.

Always negotiate on the basis of objective criteria.

And do distinguish between the problem and the person.

4. Evaluate.

Did you do well or could you do better? Were your goals achieved or did you compromise them too much? This is key to improve your negotiating skills. It goes without saying - we learn by making mistakes, so make sure you don’t repeat them next time!

We hope we’ve helped at least a little and made your way to achieving your goal in the GA easier. 

Set your goals high and don’t stop there!

Start achieving your goals on Thursday and… “Be the change you want to see in the world.” (Gandhi).

Are you wondering what we’ve prepared for you in the second sequel tomorrow? Aleksandra will inspire you, so stay tuned and check for new posts!

Tamara Kajtazović

Very brifely summarized from last year's lectures:
Svetličič, Marjan. 2011. Lectures: Negotiations. Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Source of quotes: brainyquotes.com, leadership-quotes.com

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