非常任理事国 国際平和協力に弾みつけたい

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan should boost contribution to peace as UNSC nonpermanent member
非常任理事国　国際平和協力に弾みつけたい

Becoming a member of the U.N. Security Council is a significant step forward to enhance Japan’s engagement in the peace and stability of the international community and secure its national interests. The government should take full advantage of this opportunity.
　国際社会の平和と安定への関与を強め、日本の国益を確保するうえで、重要な前進である。政府は、この機会を最大限に活用すべきだ。

Japan was elected a nonpermanent member of the Security Council, gaining a seat for the 11th time, the most among the 193 member countries of the United Nations. Its term will last for two years beginning next January.
　日本が国連安全保障理事会の非常任理事国に選出された。１９３加盟国で最多の１１回目だ。任期は来年１月から２年間となる。

U.N. diplomacy is a major pillar of Japan’s foreign policy, along with the Japan-U.S. alliance. Coordination with the United Nations is also essential to embody the “proactive contribution to peace” advocated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration. It is the right time for Japan to return to the Security Council after its last service as a nonpermanent member, which ended in 2010.
　国連外交は、日米同盟とともに日本外交の主要な柱だ。安倍政権が掲げる「積極的平和主義」の具体化にも、国連との協調が欠かせない。２０１０年以来の安保理への復帰は、時宜を得たものだ。

How can the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria be resolved? How should the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group be dealt with? Security Council members can adopt resolutions that bind all the U.N. member nations, and take other actions after holding unofficial talks among them.
　ウクライナ、シリアの紛争をいかに収拾するか。過激派組織「イスラム国」の脅威にどう対処するか。安保理メンバー国は非公式に協議を重ね、全加盟国を拘束できる決議などを採択する。

The five permanent members of the Security Council with veto power are strong, but so are the power of information and the voices held by the 10 nonpermanent members. Nonpermanent members can quickly ascertain changing international situations and exercise influence over discussions on resolutions.
　拒否権を持つ５常任理事国の権限は強いが、１０非常任理事国の情報力や発言権も大きい。変動する国際情勢を迅速に把握し、決議案審議で影響力を行使できる。

For instance, when Pyongyang carried out a nuclear-weapon test in 2009, Japan led the adoption of resolutions, including sanctions, against North Korea in cooperation with the United States and other countries. Japan was a nonpermament member of the Security Council at that time.
　０９年に北朝鮮が核実験を強行した際は、非常任理事国の日本が米国などと連携し、制裁を含む決議の採択を主導した。

To protect own safety

Japan should proactively engage in discussions and the decision-making process at the Security Council to protect its own safety.
　日本の安全を守るためにも、安保理の議論と意思決定に主体的に関わることが大切だ。

It must also actively tackle human rights issues, in a bid to resolve the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents.
　北朝鮮による日本人拉致問題の解決に向けて、人権問題にも積極的に取り組む必要がある。

Since the end of World War II, Japan has helped developing countries overcome various problems such as poverty and disease. It has consistently participated in U.N. peacekeeping operations. We expect the nation to propose its own ideas and solutions for peace building, and broaden understanding of these ideas among concerned countries.
　日本は戦後、途上国の貧困や疾病の克服などの支援を続けている。国連平和維持活動（ＰＫＯ）にも継続的に参加してきた。安保理メンバーとして、平和構築に関する自らの理念と処方箋を発信し、関係国の理解を広げたい。

Discussions on the Security Council reform have shifted into high gear this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
　戦後７０年の今年は、安保理改革の議論が本格化している。

The Group of Four countries — Japan, Germany, India and Brazil — aim to implement a reform plan to increase the permanent members of the Security Council to 11, and the nonpermanent members to 14 or 15.
　日本とドイツ、インド、ブラジルの「Ｇ４」は、常任理事国を１１に、非常任理事国を１４～１５に拡大する案の実現を図る方針だ。

A nonpermanent member of the Security Council cannot be reelected consecutively, and a country has to win support from more than two-thirds of all U.N. member countries each time it is elected.
　非常任理事国は再選できず、当選には加盟国の３分の２以上の支持をその都度得る必要がある。

Japan pays the largest contributions to the world body following the United States, equivalent to over 10 percent of the U.N. budget. To secure influence matching that amount, Japan should keep trying to become a permanent member of the Security Council.
　米国に次ぐ、国連予算の１０％強の分担金に見合う影響力を確保するためにも、日本は常任理事国入りに粘り強く挑戦したい。

The G-4 submitted a Security Council reform plan to the United Nations in 2005, but it was not adopted due to opposition from both the United States and China, and unsuccessful coordination with African countries.
　Ｇ４は０５年にも、改革案を国連に提出したが、米中両国の反対や、アフリカ諸国との連携の不調で、採決できずに頓挫した。

U.N. reform is difficult, because it represents an historic attempt to change the international order based on the outcome of WWII.
　国連改革は、第２次大戦の結果を踏まえた国際秩序を変更する歴史的試みだけに、困難を伴う。

Learning from the failed attempt in 2005, the G-4 must consolidate forces that are positive about Security Council reform while rebuilding its cooperative relations with the United States and African countries.
　０５年の失敗を教訓に、米国やアフリカとの協調関係を再構築しつつ、安保理改革に前向きな勢力を結集することが大切である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 17, 2015)