Japan to Co-Sponsor U.N. Resolution on Veto Holder Accountability

Tokyo, April 14 (Jiji Press)--Japan plans to co-sponsor a resolution proposed to seek to hold the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council accountable when they exercise their veto powers, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday. "Exercising the right to veto by the permanent Security Council members should be restrained to the maximum extent possible," Matsuno told a press conference. The resolution is being prepared after Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The effort is led by Liechtenstein, and more than 40 countries including the United States are believed to be co-sponsoring it, sources familiar with the situation said. The resolution will seek to require the permanent Security Council members to explain their reasons at the U.N. General Assembly when they exercise their veto. Masahisa Sato, chief of the Foreign Affairs Division of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, handed over a proposal to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that seeks to restrict the veto power as part of U.N. reform. Kishida said that he wants to focus his reform efforts on ways to make the United Nations work better, according to Sato. END