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President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic countries, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and my own country, Denmark.
Let me begin by thanking the President for his commitment to advancing the important process of Security Council reform, and for the timely appointment of the Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations for the 81st session.
Allow me to also extend our deep appreciation to Ambassadors Albanai and Gregoire-van Haaren for once again taking on the important role of Co-Chairs of the IGN process and for their tireless efforts in bringing the process forward.
President,
Reform of the Security Council is long overdue. The Security Council must become more effective, transparent, representative and accountable.
We continue to support the expansion of the Council in both the permanent and non-permanent category, ensuring a more equitable representation to better reflect the global realities of the 21st century.
This includes, as reflected in the Pact for the Future, redressing the historical injustice done to the African continent by strengthening African representation in both categories of membership.
President,
The misuse of the veto continues to prevent the Security Council from living up to its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. We need a Council that responds effectively to threats to international peace and security. We need a Council that prevents atrocities and protect civilians. And we need a Council that upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. And to ensure this, we must continue to advance and support efforts to restrict the scope and limit the use of the veto, including the ACT Code of Conduct and the French/Mexican initiative. Against this backdrop, we particularly welcome the United Kingdom's recent decision to join the French-Mexican initiative, becoming the second permanent member of the Council to do so. These initiatives are an important step towards more responsible use of the veto, and we call on all member states, particularly the remaining permanent members, to make the same commitments.
President,
In the Pact for the Future, we made a common pledge to advance Security Council reform as a matter of priority and without delay. The calls for Security Council reform have grown louder since then, as clearly reflected in this year’s General Debate.
In light of this momentum, we regret that the 80th session of the General Assembly did not deliver more tangible progress in the IGN process.
Moving forward into the 81st session, the Nordic countries encourage all Member States to engage constructively and with flexibility, building on the dedicated efforts of the Co-Chairs and the reform models presented. We - the Nordic countries – remain open to exploring constructive compromise solutions that can help bridge existing differences and build convergence among Member States.
We call on the Co-chairs to present a clear timeline for the IGN process in this session. Such timeline should outline the concrete steps towards the presentation of a consolidated model, as already agreed in the Pact for the Future, and the path towards text-based negotiations.
The Nordic countries stand ready to contribute constructively to moving these negotiations forward.
Thank you
