Source: Gulf News:
Who made the decision to turn down the UN Security Council seat?
It is always in the end the king who makes the decision. But it wasn’t a whimsical decision. Nor was it, as some newspapers here have described it, done in a fit of pique. It was a studied and considered decision. The kingdom conducted a very high-level campaign for the seat, and many people were surprised by the decision to turn it down. Some governments take decisions that not everybody knows about it. My understanding is that [the decision was based on] the situation in the Security Council, particularly on the Syrian issue, but not just on that. You had also the issue of nuclear non-proliferation … and then you have the issue of Palestine, which has been with us since 1947. These three issues culminated in the decision where the kingdom felt that by not taking the seat, it would make the point to the Security Council that there is a need to fix it.
Categories: Asia, Saudi Arabia
My personal view: I do not agree with many things that the Saudis do (especially the ones ‘behind the scenes) but I do agree on this one. The non-permanent members of the security council are mere puppets. Only the permanent members are ‘running the show’…
the UN needs to get rid of the veto system