President,
I am speaking on behalf of a group of States committed to the implementation of General Assembly Resolution 76/262, otherwise known as the Veto Initiative: Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, and my own country Norway.
We are concerned by the veto of the Russian Federation of a text that would have extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the Sanctions Committee on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
This is a mandate which had been adopted unanimously for 14 years. The veto overrode a text which was subject to extensive negotiations, and received 13 votes in favour.
The Panel provides vital information and guidance to all Member States in implementing the measures agreed by the 1718 Committee and adopted by the Council. We appreciate the opportunity for accountability and transparency today through the implementation of the Veto Initiative, giving Member States the opportunity to discuss an issue which concerns us all.
President,
The veto cast on 28 March both undermines the work of the Council under Chapter VII, and impedes the ability of the UN Membership to comply with its binding resolutions.
The Membership must have a means to receive all possible information to effectively uphold the obligation to implement relevant resolutions in accordance with Article 25 of the Charter. If the mandate of the Panel is indeed terminated, we will not receive the vital information and technical expertise needed to implement the 1718 sanctions agreed by the UNSC, which remain in place.
This veto is a direct risk to efforts in the DPRK context to ensure the non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their means of delivery. States depend on the information the Panel of Experts provides to implement their international obligations including, inter alia, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention.
We call on the Council to act in accordance with its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and likewise we encourage this Assembly to make the most of its Charter-based role and further encourage necessary action where the Security Council has been prevented from acting by the use and threat of the veto.
Given the binding Charter imperative for all Member States to comply with all Security Council resolutions, Member States both inside and outside the Council must consider how we can act in order to retain the functions of the Panel of Experts beyond the expiration of their mandate on 30 April.
We urge the Security Council, and this Assembly, to build on our discussions today by taking steps to this end. We must uphold our obligations to this organization, beginning with its purpose laid out in Article 1(1) to maintain international peace and security.
Thank you.