Informal meeting of the Plenary on the IGN
[9-10 March 2023]
Statement by Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj
Permanent Representative of India to the UN
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Co-Chairs,
Thank you for convening today’s meeting on the two clusters- ‘Size of an enlarged Security Council and working methods of the Council; and the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly’.
My delegation aligns itself with the Statements delivered earlier today by the Permanent Representative of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on behalf of the L.69 Group of developing countries, and by the Permanent Representative of Germany on behalf of the G4.
Co-Chairs,
2. I would be remiss if I did not take note of a recent evolution within the Inter-Governmental Negotiations. Thanks are due to you for recommending a webcast of the first segment of each of the IGN meetings and the establishing of a specific website to act as a repository of the recordings of the webcasts as well as of the letters, decisions and other documents related to the IGN process, as well as links to the statements of the Member States.
3. This is a small welcome step in the right direction. We do hope that this will force multiply positively to the updation of the Elements Paper and the attribution of positions thereof, under each of the five clusters. We very much also hope that a webcasting of the proceedings and the establishing of a website, will enable delegations to innovate their remarks and avoid repetition.
4. With regard to today’s topics, I would like to make the following five points:
i) On Size, there already exists a convergence among the membership. We all agree that the Security Council’s size should be expanded in order to make it more legitimate and representative. The revised number of total Council seats should be in the mid to upper 20s, no less than 26 seats- which allows for an adequate balance between representativeness, legitimacy and effectiveness. But this number should be an outcome of text-based negotiations on the key issues of categories of membership and regional representation.
ii) Two, the Council would be more transparent, efficient, and effective if its working methods were revised and updated. The methods would need to be adapted to the size and composition of a reformed Council. While there have been some important improvements on working methods in the form of Note 507, we take this opportunity to reiterate that the problems afflicting the Security Council go much deeper than just its working methods. The fundamental problem in the Security Council stems from its lack of representativeness.
iii) Three, there are items in the agenda of the Security Council on which discussion has not taken place for more than seven decades. 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. We also underscore the need for a fair distribution of responsibilities between elected and permanent members. Selection of Chairs of subsidiary bodies and distribution of pen-holderships 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.
iv) Four, the role of the General Assembly remains essential, as the most universally representative deliberative organ of the United Nations. It is therefore important to maintain regular coordination and interaction between the Security Council and the General Assembly as well as the other main organs of the United Nations, while respecting the specific competencies and mandates of these organs. We commend the ongoing regular dialogues between the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council aimed at streamlining and coordinating the agendas of the two organs.
v) Five, the mandate of the Security Council and the General Assembly are unique and distinct. Both are the principal organs of the United Nations. The ‘veto initiative’, despite its noble objective, ended up removing the discretion and decision-making ability of the President of the General Assembly. Let us not forget the fact that we already had mechanisms in place, which enabled the membership of the General Assembly to decide on an “emergency basis” to convene discussions or even act on issues that are stalemated in the Security Council.
Co-Chairs,
5. We need 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 the 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. If countries are truly interested in making the Security 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.
Thank you!
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