President,
I am speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and my own country, Norway.
We thank the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg for co-chairing the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform during this session and we wish them every success in this important task.
I reaffirm the commitment of the Nordic countries to engage in the collective efforts to reform the Security Council. The complex and multifaceted challenges we face globally today require a United Nations that is fit to respond. It is more important than ever that the Security Council becomes more transparent, more effective, more accountable and more representative.
We are encouraged by the steady progress on UN reform that is currently energizing the work of the Secretariat and Member States, and in particular, the ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Council’s work in its existing format. We look forward to listening to and to working with Member States from all regions in support of continued reforms.
The Nordic countries support a balanced expansion of the Security Council. The aim must be to better reflect current global political and economic realities, and ensure increased representation, including both permanent and non-permanent seats for Africa. In our view, it is also important that small states have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process of the Security Council as elected members.
As we today embark on a new session of the IGN, we welcome the co-chairs’ outline of forthcoming meetings and their invitation to explore potential elements of convergence. We join others in calling for the commencement of text-based negotiations. We see this as the best way to harness the progress achieved in the IGN process so far and to move the process forward.
Rest assured that the Nordics will contribute to a constructive dialogue among Member States, with a view to achieve further progress during this session of the General Assembly.
Thank you.