UN Security Council Reform: Veto Right for Italy

In three earlier articles, we first referred to the three-day deliberations (on the impending UN reforms) that have been concluded on November 14th in the UN General Assembly. To highlight the developments, we quoted Srgjan Kerim, the Assembly President, who stated that "the debate demonstrated the clear commitment of Member States to embark upon a new stage that offers the prospect of achieving the ultimate goal of comprehensive reform" (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24665&Cr=general&Cr1=assembly).

We then analyzed the historical developments that have produced an extraordinarily different international environment over the past 65 years, and we insisted on the importance of the values and principles declared in Charter of the UN for the forthcoming reform. We subsequently advocated for Japan, India, and Germany as additional UN Security Council Permanent Members. We include here the links to three articles: (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=43169 /

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=43175 /

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=43181).

We thus called for a more representative UN Security Council able to reflect today's world, and pertinently address the overwhelming aspirations for Humanism, Democracy, Freedom, Justice, and respect of the Human Rights.

In the present article, we will go on, advocating for a more representative UN Security Council, suggesting Veto Right for further candidates, and more precisely Italy.

Italy

The country of the Apennines, in the south of the Alps, ranks 23rd in the world, in terms of population. Why consider Italy for UN Security Council permanent membership? There are several reasons for this.

First, we don't believe that in a 192-member forum like the UN General Assembly, we can discuss for representativeness with less than at least 13 members with UN Veto right. Already, the incumbent five (5) UN Security Council permanent members were institutionalized as such at a moment (before more than 60 years) the General Assembly consisted of 50 states in total; this suggests automatically a ratio 1:10. If we are to apply the ratio, we should propose up to 19 UN Security Council permanent members. This is an arithmetic approach, and helps better contextualize the overall problem, and – to some extent – highlight our suggestion for Italy as UN Security Council permanent member.

Second, if Italy ranks 23rd in the world, in terms of population, England occupies the 22nd position; in addition, France is the world's 21st most populated country. With the respective populations varying slightly (Italy 58.5 m people, England 60 m people, and France 63 m people), Italy has apparently the same right as England and France to be a UN Security Council permanent member.

Third, we should take into consideration all the underlying principles, and the parameters involved. Italy may be the world's 23rd country with respect to population (and therefore dwarfed by countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Philippines, and Vietnam), but Europe's exemplary democracy is the world's no 8 in terms of GDP, ahead of Russia, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico. Italy's GDP is larger than the GDP of the aforementioned five countries (namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Philippines, and Vietnam) that, combined, total more than 626 m people, which means more than 10 times Italy's population!

As one of the underlying principles in respect with the UN Security Council reform should be the promotion and the reward of a nation for its economic competence, technological effectiveness, industrial creativity, financial dynamism, overall productivity, and commitment to progress, nations – negative models cannot possibly have a position in the UN Security Council because of just a pathetic birth rate growth.

Historical parameters

By promoting the Cradle of the Modern Western Civilization, the Birthplace of Renaissance, and one of the world's most knowledgeable nations to the position of UN Security Council permanent member, one offers an excellent example to the aforementioned five underdeveloped nations, and a prototype for most to follow. Italy, as absolutely equal to France and England in all the socio-economic parameters, has a rightful position among the UN Security Council permanent members, which was denied to Rome because of its involvement in WW II at the side of Hitler.

As in the case of Japan and Germany, Italy's promotion to UN Security Council permanent member would be mainly a historical rectification. Italy, like Germany, was in 1945 among the two main European losers. As such, it was only normal for Italy, despite its Communist resistance to il Duce, to be left out of the UN Security Council project. However, Italy's position in 1945 was not equal to that of Germany's and Japan's; in the same way France was considered as only half-victorious, Italy was viewed as half-defeated only.

Yet, a decade later, Italy was one of the six constituent members of the embryonic form of the European Union. Despite accentuated emigration (due to economic underdevelopment in the 50s Mezzogiorno), which was mainly directed to America and Germany, Italy managed to recover almost as fast as Germany, and over the past 50 years the country of the Apennines has permanently been at the same economic level with England and France. One must bear in mind that Italian Americans amount to ca. 18 million, whereas Italians in Germany are second only to Turks as Gastarbeiter, totaling ca. 600000 people.

A great economic power

Founding member of G-8, Italy represents today the same absolutely socio-economic background as England and France in terms of economic power; with US $ 1.756.000.000 as GDP, Italy is very close to England (US $ 1.928.000.000) and France (US $ 1.902.000.000). Italy's GDP growth rate (est. 2006) was 1.9%, compared to France's 2.2% and England's 2.8% (all three countries being lower than the EU average 3.2%).

Italy's per capita GDP is slightly lower than France's and England's, respectively US $ 30200, 31200, and 31800. All three countries present in this regard figures higher than the EU average (US $ 29900).

When it comes to Gross Fixed Investment as part of the GDP, Italy (20.8%) dwarfs both, France (20.5%) and England (18.1%).

Italy's budget revenues and expenditures (US $ 645 billion and 928 billion respectively) are lower than those of France (US $ 1.1 trillion and 1.2 trillion respectively) and England (US $ 1 trillion and 1 trillion respectively).

Italy – the world's 7th larger exporter

Italy is the world's 7th larger exporter. Italy's exports (US $ 417 b) are slightly lower than those of England and France (US $ 450 b and 483 b respectively).

Italy exports almost as much as Russia (UN Security Council permanent member) and India (UN Security Council permanent aspirant) combined, although the two countries' population is more than 20 times larger than that of Italy's!

With imports totaling US $ 428.7 b, Italy is the world's 7th larger importer, after England (4th with US $ 604 b), Japan (5th with US $ 534.5 b), and France (6th with US $ 520.8 b).

When it comes to Foreign Exchange and Gold reserves, France (US $ 98 billion) leads Italy (US $ 75.7 billion) and England (US $ 47 billion). Italy ranks no 15 in the world.

As regards technological development and ICT indicators, Italy leads England and France, as regards mobile telephone lines (71.5 million, instead of 69.6 million and 53 million respectively), but has fewer Internet users (28.8 million, instead of 33.5 million and 31.3 million respectively).

If Germany is 'in', so Italy must.

Practically speaking, there is no reason to even discuss Germany’s possible acceptance into the UN Veto Club, if a positive conclusion is not accompanied by a similar decision to extend the same right to Italy.

Third World countries should enthusiastically support Italy's candidacy for UN Security Council permanent membership. Compared to Spain, Portugal, England, France, Russia, Holland, and Germany, Italy has been slightly involved in colonial adventures (Abyssinia, Somalia, and Libya), and even more recently, the Italian attitude to return antiquities abducted during the colonial times from Axum (Abyssinia) testifies – in striking opposition to French and British practices – to full rejection of the colonial robbery of Asiatic, African and American antiquities.

Who does not want Italy as UN Security Council permanent member?

It is essential to underscore at this point that the main opposition against Italy’s adhesion to the UN Veto Council comes only from France that ponders on the impact such a decision would have on the decision making process within the European Union itself!

This demonstrates very clearly the permanently vicious and authentically colonial attitudes and targets of the disreputable French diplomacy, and the biased character of the French opposition to Italy’s entrance in the Veto Club.

The only parallel attitude of a country against another's candidacy - among the already discussed cases - can be identified in the Chinese skepticism about Japan, but this is rather relevant of traditional enmity (as Japan had partly colonized China), and regional balance of power, which both are understandable (though not acceptable) reasons for reluctance.

Contrarily, in the case of French machinations against Italy, we bear witness to colonial style manipulations, first expressed within a regional body (such as European Union) and then transported to the context of deliberations taking place within the international body. Acting in this biased way, France affects gravely the clarity of the purpose and the transparence of the decision making within the UN context. This consists in an unbearable and unacceptable attitude against – practically speaking – the rest of the world.

It would be essential in this regard to bear in mind that France’s intrigues within the European Union involve the formation of a sort of tripartite directory (France – Germany – England) within which an anti-British majority is pre-arranged due to the French – German axis, and at a second stage, the use of this scheme in order to impose, in a disreputable and undignified way, policies to all the other member states of the European Union, as already attested in the case of Poland in particular.

French anti-Italian biases affecting other parts of the world

This affair does concern the rest of the world, and more particularly has an impact on Africa and the Middle East where various administrations and numerous oppressed peoples should hold France as responsible for the calamities fallen upon them ever since the French started expanding outside their borders. It must therefore be made known to the Quai d’ Orsay schemers that perpetuation of their attitude cannot be tolerated anymore. France’s colonial time is over.

After all, it is quite indicative of Italy's economic strength and rightful position as UN Veto power that, with just 42% of Russia’s population, Italy generates a GDP larger than Russia's, the other postcolonial and post-Stalinist relic of the UN Security Council.

Certainly, in the case of Russia, we have to deal with the territorial dimension, namely the vast Russian territory (80% larger than that of the US). However, although vast surface may be a criterion, nobody should undermine today the importance of a country's democratic credentials in reshaping the UN.

Drawing the conclusion that population, surface, and economic development are not the only criteria, one should be concerned with the fact that ca. 30 million Russian citizens – belonging to various ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious minorities that are currently oppressed by the Russian totalitarian regime – do not have the same rights as the Sicilians, the Padanians, the Sardinians, and the various other minorities of the Italian democratic society.

What can be the bottom line in this regard is that reforming the UN should be a matter directly linked to propagating the most advanced concepts of Democracy, Human Rights, and unbiased representativeness at the international community level. If undemocratic Russia persists in a neo-tsarist / neo-Stalinist approach to the economic, social and political affairs, the world's oppressed peoples and democratic societies need Italy's voice as opposed with the same strength as Russia's within the UN Veto Club.

In a forthcoming article, we will examine whether the world would be correctly represented within the UN through the extension of UN Security Council permanent membership to Japan, India, Germany and Italy only.

Note

Picture:

Quirinale Palace, Roman residence of the President of Italy