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20.02.2026 Joint Nordic Statement delivered at the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN)

Who Joint Nordic Statement delivered by H.E. Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN
Who Joint Nordic Statement delivered by H.E. Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN
When 20.02.2026

Checked Against Delivery

Excellencies, Chairs,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic countries, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and my own country, Denmark.

We welcome these focused discussions, and the initiative by the co-chairs to put forward concrete ideas for the membership to react to. It is indeed time to stop repeating the same fixed positions and start building bridges, so that the consolidated model can be developed and we can ultimately move to text-based negotiations.

The Nordic countries have long been advocating for a more representative, effective, transparent and accountable Council. We have continuously expressed support for an expansion in both categories of membership to better reflect the global realities of the 21st century. We also continue to advocate for ways to improve small and medium-sized States’ meaningful participation in the decision-making process of the Council.

At the same time, we support innovative approaches by the Co-Chairs and others. We are open to exploring all ideas that can break the current impasse and lead to finding a middle ground, including the ideas you have put on the table. In doing so, we must continue to take into account the negative impacts of the veto on the work and functioning of the current and a future enlarged Council.

While we recognize that new permanent or longer-term members of a reformed Council may seek to have the same powers as the current permanent members, we must ensure that our pursuit for equity does not further expand the risks of paralysis in the Council. We need a Council that is able to prevent and respond to atrocities. We need a Council that can fulfill its responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Introducing more members with today’s seemingly unlimited veto powers could jeopardize this.

Chairs,

The Nordic countries maintain that a mandatory time bound review clause is an important element in any reform proposal. Such a clause is a means to both enable compromise now and to avoid finding ourselves with another protracted IGN process in the near future. It could cover the full structure and functioning of the Council at the agreed time of review, and not only the amendments we hope to agree upon at this point in time.

Finally, we again wish to encourage groups and individual states who plan to submit models to do so as soon as possible in order for these to be presented during the current session. This would allow the Co-chairs, whose efforts we fully support, to have a comprehensive basis for developing the consolidated model.

Thank you.