The Statement was delivered by the Permanent Representative of Norway Ambassador Mona Juul on behalf of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway.
President,
I deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic Countries:
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway.
We thank you President for convening us today.
This debate is an important opportunity for all UN Members to have their say.
To reflect on the Council’s implementation of its mandate towards the maintenance of international peace and security in 2022-
a duty bestowed on it, on our behalf.
Indeed, the Annual Report is a Charter-obligation of the Council to the General Assembly,
creating this key moment for dialogue.
We call on the Security Council together with the President of the General Assembly to explore ways of strengthening this important process,
towards a more substantive interaction between the two bodies.
President,
On the report itself we echo much of what was just presented by Portugal on behalf of the ACT Group.
And, as set out by my ACT colleagues:
we also welcome the timely adoption of the report;
we must however underscore the importance of the Council, in the future, meeting all the timelines it has set for itself in the production of the report.
This would ensure that the General Assembly is able to have a more predictable discussion on the report in June, if not before.
When the content is more recent and relevant.
We would also echo the well-worn calls from this Assembly for the Council to submit a more:
complete, substantive, and analytical account of its work.
President,
In the absence of this, we continue to underline the importance of monthly assessments being completed by each Presidency.
They are a valuable way to provide a more analytical look at the Council’s work,
and an opportunity to mark important procedural aspects throughout the year.
While they are circulated among all Council members for comment, let me underscore that monthly assessments do not have to be agreed by consensus.
Greater recognition of this fact may help assessments to be completed sooner, and ultimately more being submitted by the end of the calendar year to inform the Annual Report.
President,
2022 was indeed a complex and challenging year for the work of the Council.
Accordingly, we would have expected a more thorough reflection of this in the report at hand,
both in substance and in process.
A significant shift in the practice of the Council took place following the adoption of resolution 76/262.
And the Council faithfully produced a Special Report for the General Assembly each time a veto was cast.
Yet, even though Special Reports are equally mandated in Article 24 (3) of the Charter,
we regret that they are not reflected in a standalone, easy to reference, section within the Annual Report.
We would encourage the Council to bring the method of their adoption in line with that of the Annual Report itself, to ensure their appropriate reflection in future Annual Reports of the Council.
Finally President,
Let me welcome the inclusion of the first annual report of the ‘Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions’ in the Council’s Annual Report.
This is an important step forward for the accountability and transparency of the IWG.
Bringing it in line also with other subsidiary bodies of the Council.
We highlight particularly the annex containing indicators of progress in the implementation of
Note 507.
We see this as a useful tool for the broader membership to assess the efforts of the Council,
and comment on where improvements could be made in implementing its own commitments.
We hope it will particularly help smaller missions to access data on the Council’s work, and to inform their reflections on these efforts,
both for this debate, and in the Council’s Annual Open Debate on Working Methods.
Ultimately, with the aim of strengthening the relationship, and dialogue, between the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Thank you.