News:
Mr President.
May I start by commending and thank you and the Spanish presidency for this very timely debate this morning. May I also welcome the very valuable contributions by our distinguished three briefers. Especially the Deputy Secretary General, the President of the General Assembly and the Vice President of ECOSOC.
Mr President.
I am also speaking on behalf of Angola, Chile, Jordan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Spain, six countries from six different regions of the world. We are six Security Council members who are committed to collaboration and to working together on this set of issues, including my own country as Chair of the Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions of the Security Council. We share a common wish to make the working methods of the Council and the Council interactions with other Organs of the UN system, as testified this morning, more effective to better reflect contemporary realities.
Mr President, Excellencies.
This annual Debate is about much more than just working methods of the Security Council. It is about decision-making, culture, and effectiveness of the Council. It also goes to the heart of the Council’s performance and accountability to the whole UN membership and the Charter. The current crises facing the UN and the Council’s difficulty in responding effectively suggests the need for a new approach.
Meaningful change is driven by practice, taking the initiative, and leading by example as much as rules and procedure. While there are good ideas for working methods contained in the Presidential Notes agreed by the Council, the dilemma is that they are couched in vague language, often are not implemented, and some Council members even resist implementing them.
This reflects the disconnect between the Council’s working methods, this Debate, and the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Procedure. The Council will find solutions and improve its performance by adapting its working methods in innovative ways to the needs of specific cases – not from generic work of the Informal Working Group, although the latter should base its future work on the common points of action from the outcomes of this Open Debate.
Mr President.
The Council has to throw off some of the constrictions that have cramped even the way it discusses matters, let alone how it makes decisions. While consensus on procedure is a fine goal, it should not be elevated to the point where we have a 15 member veto, not just in the Council itself, but also in its subsidiary bodies including its sanctions committees. That was never the intention of the Charter.
All Council members have a responsibility to find solutions to improve our processes and culture, and at all levels of our diplomacy. For this reason we have fostered increased dialogue among the Permanent Representatives on the Council’s working methods, including a monthly meeting to discuss how we work together on the issues ahead of us.
We also need working methods which produce effective political focus in the Council’s work. The Council’s members have to display more discipline and restraint on the range of initiatives, many of which absorb valuable time and distract us from real problem solving and diplomacy, and have limited world impact. We’ve also some distance to go, in terms of focus and interactivity, to ensure that open debates are a useful forum for exchanging between the Council and the rest of the Organisation. They need to be more than a platform for States to record national positions.
Mr President.
The veto may not strictly be a working method, but it has a significant negative impact or ‘cascade effect’ – on working methods of the Council where Elected Members are routinely excluded for no reason other than habit. There needs to be a more inclusive process for developing resolutions and presidential statements. All Council members need the opportunity to engage and contribute meaningfully. It’s a simple request, but in current Council practice it is the exception not the norm.
Mr President.
Arguably, the very recent introduction of the penholdership system has improved Council efficiency. It ensures that first drafts of most Council products are prepared by delegations with consistent knowledge and a long background in the issues. But it has also diminished the opportunity for wider Council engagement, especially by Elected Members, and has significantly increased the risk of Council products being crafted in a way that protects the interests of Permanent Members. In these respects, the system cuts across the principle of collective responsibility that underpins the Charter.
We all should feel a sense of ownership of the Council’s work, and we should not preclude others offering their drafting ideas for texts. Wherever possible we want to encourage a change to the penholdership system. This is an obvious way to ensure both the necessary continuity, including through Permanent Members, along with inclusion of Elected Members and leveraging their relevant expertise – whether regional, chairmanship of subsidiary bodies, or otherwise.
Mr President, Distinguished Excellencies.
As our three briefers today made clear, the Council needs to become better at cooperating with other UN and regional organs, bodies and offices. One simple way for promoting better interaction would be for Council members to respect the role of the Presidency in organising the Council’s regular business for the month. This should include arranging for interactions with the Secretariat, the Assembly and ECOSOC, and also with other bodies such as the Peacebuilding Commission whose advisory and early warning capacity are of direct importance to the Council’s work. We also need to get more serious about the supporting partnerships and complementary roles of the UN, regional organisations and counterparts, especially the African Union, in preventing and managing conflicts. In this effort, it is also important to improve the consultations and coordination with Troop Contributing Countries and Police Contributing Countries, especially in relation to mandates development and renewals. The knowledge and challenges acquired in the field by them is an asset that the Council must consider when discussing its mandates.
Mr President.
The process for the Secretary-General’s appointment, which includes the Council’s close cooperation with the General Assembly, will be a key issue for all members of the Organisation over the next year. It is not acceptable that the Council has been slow to take up the necessary engagement between the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council on this matter of direct importance to all Member States. This is especially relevant given the unequivocal call from the General Assembly - which we have all supported - for dialogue and a more transparent and inclusive process of decision-making on this specific issue.
Thank you Mr President.