How Singapore Built a Club for Small Countries at the UN

Imagine showing up to a meeting where the big players have already made all the decisions. Nobody asked for your input. Nobody even told you the meeting was happening. That was life for small countries at the United Nations in the early 1990s. One Singapore diplomat decided to change that.

This is part of my retelling of “50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations” (Tommy Koh, Li Lin Chang, Joanna Koh, 2015, ISBN: 978-9814713030).

The Problem: Small Countries Got Ignored

Chapter 5 is written by Chew Tai Soo, the Singapore diplomat who actually started the Forum of Small States (FOSS). He arrived in New York in spring 1991 as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN. Within a year, he noticed three big problems that small countries faced.

Problem one: small countries got locked out of important negotiations. During the Earth Charter talks at the UN Conference on Environment and Development, countries like Austria and Switzerland were simply excluded. They weren’t big enough on their own (like the US or Japan) and they didn’t belong to a powerful group (like the EU). So they just… didn’t get a seat at the table.

Problem two: small countries lacked information. Unless a small country had a team of really active diplomats hustling for intel, they often had no idea what was actually going on behind closed doors at the UN.

Problem three: small countries were underrepresented in UN bodies. Getting elected to principal UN organs and specialized agency boards was tough for small states. Chew watched the 1991 ECOSOC elections and saw the pattern clearly. Big regional countries sailed through in the first round of voting. The smaller countries were left fighting over whatever seats remained.

So basically, if you were a small country, you were out of the loop, out of the room, and out of the running.

The Idea: What If Small Countries Teamed Up?

Chew didn’t just complain about the problem. He started talking to people. Two ambassadors became his key partners early on. Ambassador Jose Luis Jesus from Cape Verde was a member of the UN Security Council. Ambassador Besley Maycock from Barbados was a longtime member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).

Both of them liked the idea. Chew wrote up a “non-paper” - basically an informal proposal - laying out what this forum of small states could do.

The goals were simple and practical:

• Fix the underrepresentation of small states in UN organs and agencies
• Create a platform where small countries support each other’s election bids
• Give small states a place where their views actually get heard
• Push the international community to stick to UN Charter principles
• Serve as a place to talk about issues that matter to all of them

One smart decision Chew made early on: he defined “small” by population, not by land size or economic status. The cutoff was 10 million people. That gave them over 100 countries. Rich small countries and poor small countries both counted. This wasn’t about being a “developing nation.” It was about being small.

And having 100+ countries meant they had real political weight. Numbers matter when you’re voting.

Building the Core Group

After the initial three-way conversations, Chew expanded the circle to 16 countries total. The “Core Group” included an interesting mix from every region: Honduras, Jamaica, Suriname, Uruguay, Botswana, Djibouti, Gabon, Tunisia, Bahrain, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Malta - plus the original three (Singapore, Cape Verde, and Barbados).

The Core Group met monthly throughout 1992 to hammer out the details. By June 1992, they had endorsed the idea, agreed on the objectives, and set a launch date: July 16, 1992.

They decided to start with about 40 countries for the first meeting. These were small states that weren’t dealing with internal conflicts or fighting with neighbors. Others could join later. Since Chew started the whole thing, the Core Group agreed he would be the first chair.

Getting Off the Ground

Here’s where Ambassador Maycock from Barbados made a huge contribution. He got the UN to let FOSS use official UN meeting rooms and even provide interpretation services. For a brand new, informal group, this was a big deal. It gave them legitimacy. When you’re meeting inside the UN building with official interpreters, people take you seriously.

What did they actually do at meetings? Practical stuff:

• Discussed upcoming UN elections and how FOSS members could support each other
• Shared information about what was happening across the UN system
• The chair circulated summary notes after each meeting
• Members briefed each other on important negotiations, like Security Council reform
• Discussed administrative and financial matters

It wasn’t flashy. It was useful. Small countries finally had a way to stay informed and coordinate.

Growing Pains and Survival

Things weren’t always smooth. When the UN hit financial trouble in 1993 and 1994, interpretation services for FOSS meetings were cut. They could still use the meeting rooms, but that was it.

Then in 1995, even the meeting rooms were taken away. By that time, Chew had left New York and his successor, Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan, had taken over as chair. Kausikan (who later became Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs) made a practical call: all FOSS meetings would now be held at the Singapore Mission.

Kausikan also made FOSS more valuable by bringing in prominent personalities and experts to brief members on important issues. This was a hit. Members loved it. Instead of just election coordination, FOSS became a place where small countries could get briefings from top-level thinkers and practitioners.

Twenty Years Later

Fast forward to October 2012. FOSS celebrated its 20th anniversary with a conference during the 67th UN General Assembly. Singapore’s Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam chaired it. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened it. The President of the General Assembly gave a keynote. So did US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari gave a luncheon address.

Think about that for a second. A group that started as three ambassadors chatting about how small countries get ignored now had the UN Secretary-General, the US Secretary of State, and a former head of state all showing up for its birthday party. Both FOSS and non-FOSS member states attended.

One more thing worth noting: the chairmanship of FOSS stayed with Singapore for all 20 years. Not because Singapore grabbed it. Because the members kept asking Singapore to keep doing it. Each new Singapore Permanent Representative inherited the role.

Why This Matters

The Forum of Small States is a simple idea that worked. Small countries, by definition, don’t have much individual power. But 100+ small countries acting together? That’s a majority of the UN membership.

Chew Tai Soo saw a problem - small states being sidelined - and built something practical to fix it. No grand speeches about reforming the entire UN system. No years-long committee to study the issue. Just a straightforward group where small countries could share information, coordinate on elections, and make sure their voices were heard.

Sometimes the most effective moves in diplomacy aren’t dramatic. They’re just… smart.

About the Author

Chew Tai Soo had a long career in Singapore’s diplomatic service. After his time at the UN in New York (1991-1995), he went on to serve as Ambassador to Japan and then France. He also chaired three GATT Dispute Settlement Panels. He was awarded Singapore’s Public Administration Medal (Gold) and Meritorious Service Medal. At the time of writing, he served as Ambassador-at-Large and Non-Resident Ambassador to Iran.

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