General Assembly Security Council

 

UNSC Open Debate on Working Methods

[Tuesday, 28 June, 2022; 1000 hrs] 

 

Joint India-Brazil Statement

 

Thank you, Mr. President.

 

It is my privilege to give this statement on behalf of Brazil and India in this open debate on working methods of the Security Council. 

 

2.     First, we would like thank Ireland for the statement delivered on behalf of the E10, which we fully endorse and support.  We also want to thank Albania for organizing this important debate. This is an issue of interest and importance to the entire membership of the United Nations, particularly during the current extraordinary circumstances, when the world looks to the Security Council for solutions and leadership. I also thank briefers for their useful insights into the topic.

 

3.     The statement made on behalf of the E10 summarizes our main concerns on the need to strengthen the working methods of the Security Council. We underscore the need for fair distribution of responsibilities between elected and permanent members. Selection of chairs of subsidiary bodies and distribution of penholderships must be open, transparent, based on exhaustive consultations, and with a more integrated perspective. This is one of the best ways to enhance the decision-making process.

 

4.    There are items the agenda of the Security Council on which discussion has not taken place since the UN’s creation. There is a case for beginning a discussion into the review of items on the list of matters of which the Council is seized, in a realistic and forward-looking manner and Note 507 provides ample guidance on this. 

 

5.    While there have  been some important improvements on working methods have, Brazil and India take this opportunity to reiterate that the problems afflicting the Security Council go much deeper than just its working methods. 

 

6.     Improving the working methods of the Council will never be enough to correct its fundamental problem, which stems from its lack of representativeness. It is our firm belief, therefore, that any debate on the working methods of the Security Council must have the issue of Security Council reform as its overarching framework. 

 

7.     There is urgent need for comprehensive reforms of the Council, including its size and composition. It is a political goal of the highest order, as is evidenced in the statements delivered by our own leaders year after year during the high-level week of the General Assembly. How can we sit here ignoring those calls? A more representative, effective, and legitimate Security Council is a pivotal component of a reformed multilateral system. 

 

8.     We need is a Security Council that better reflects the geographical and developmental diversity of the United Nations today. A Security Council where voices of developing countries and unrepresented regions, including Africa, Latin America and the vast majority of Asia and Pacific, find their due place at the table. And for this, an expansion of the Council in both categories of membership is absolutely essential. This is the only way to bring the Council’s composition and decision-making dynamics in line with contemporary geo-political realities.

 

9.     We can no more hide behind the smokescreen of the IGN in the UN General Assembly and pay lip service to the much larger and pressing issue of Council reform. If countries are truly interested in making the Council more accountable and more credible, we call on them to come out openly and support a clear pathway to achieve this reform in a time bound manner, through the only established process in the UN, which is by engaging in negotiations based on text and not through speaking at each other or past each other as we have done for the last three decades. 

 

10.     As the threats to international peace and security evolve, so must the Council. We ask those blocking progress on this vital issue to heed the calls for genuine reform, and contribute to making this Council truly fit for purpose for the 21st century. 

 

I thank you.