Your Excellencies, Co-Chairs,I have the honour to deliver this statement
on behalf of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and my own
country, Finland.
I would like to express our gratitude to
the Ambassadors of Poland and Qatar for co-chairing this session of
Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform (IGN). We appreciate
your facilitation of the process.
Co-Chairs,
The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted
the importance of an effective multilateral system with the UN at its core. In
the field of peace and security, the Security Council has a unique
responsibility according to its mandate under the UN Charter. Therefore, the
international community requires a Council that is more transparent, more
effective, more accountable and more representative. The Security Council must
have the required legitimacy to tackle the global challenges of today. It
should also be adaptable to the challenges of the future and support a coherent
UN response.
Your Excellencies,
We welcome the Co-Chairs’ letter, dated 8
December 2020, where the current IGN session is outlined. In today’s meeting,
the Member States are invited to share their views both on the process itself and
also on questions of substance.
Once again, the Nordic Countries reaffirm
their sincere commitment to our collective endeavour to reform the Security
Council. We also emphasize the importance of the system-wide approach and close
linkages between the Security Council reform and the reform of the peace and
security architecture as a whole.
In our joint statement delivered during the
latest General Assembly debate on this subject in November last year, the
Nordic Countries called for commencing more substantive text-based
negotiations. Today, we reiterate this call. In our view, it would offer a way
to encourage substantive discussions and advance the process further.
We agree with your assessment Co-Chairs,
that a renewed momentum must be given to this process in light of our joint
commitment in the UN75 Declaration, which states that the UN Member States
“commit to instil new life in the discussions on the reform of the Security
Council”.
Co-Chairs,
Turning to the issue of regional
representation, as part of the reform the Nordic Countries support a balanced
expansion of the Security Council from all regions to better reflect current
global political and economic realities, and to ensure increased representation
of developing countries, including both permanent and non-permanent seats for
Africa. In our view, it is also important to provide for an opportunity for
small states to participate in the decision-making process of the UN Security
Council, including serving as elected members. We welcome ongoing discussions
on these and other issues as negotiations progress.
We must also carefully consider the
possible negative impacts of the veto power on the work and functioning of the
current and future Security Council, and of the United Nations as a whole. The
use of the veto power must come with accountability and transparency.
In the absence of a comprehensive reform,
the Nordic Countries once again urge all Member States to join the “Code of
Conduct regarding Security Council action against genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes” and the “Political Declaration on Suspension of Veto
Powers in Cases of Mass Atrocity” launched by France and Mexico.
Finally, Your Excellencies,
The Nordic Countries stand ready to
contribute to a constructive dialogue among Member States in this session, to
build on the progress of previous years, including the Framework Document and
the Revised Elements Paper, which form the current basis of our work. We look
forward to the guidance of the Co-Chairs on the way forward.
Thank you.