Thank you President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic Countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden – and Norway.
We all have a responsibility as UN members to examine how the Council is functioning, to check what is and isn’t working and to propose solutions, so we welcome this opportunity to engage today.
President,
We appreciate the Council’s efforts to consolidate and update Note 507. And we congratulate Japan for their steady hand and patient work. We welcome updates including on mitigating risks and threats of reprisals against civil society briefers- who enrich the deliberations of this body.
We note with concern that consensus was not reached on incorporating all agreements on working methods per the usual practice. As well as the backsliding on commitments to transparency through press elements, monthly working methods commitments, and the establishment of a live list of cosponsors for draft resolutions.
President, we highlight too that the GA has now updated its rules of procedures to reflect gender-specific nouns for women and not only men. We hope the Council will build on discussions held in context of the update of Note 507 and soon do the same.
President,
The Nordic countries remain deeply concerned by the unprecedented situation last year where some of the most operational work of the Council remained dormant for five months due to the inability to reach a political decision on the distribution of Subsidiary Body Chairs.
This sends the wrong signal about the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Council. A signal reinforced by the continual lack of agreement this year, well past the Council’s own 1 October timeline.
This disproportionately impacts incoming members. Elected members shoulder the burden of chairing subsidiary bodies, and a late distribution leaves them insufficient time to prepare to play a full and active role. The stop gap measures outlined in Note 507 can be improved to ensure continuity, for example through the greater involvement of Vice Chairs and greater clarity on how the Presidency should act as “Acting Chair”. But ultimately, we urge the Council to finalise an agreement without delay.
Finally President,
The Nordic countries are looking ahead to the process of the Selection and Appointment of the next Secretary-General. We urge the Council, including the P5, to uphold the highest standards of transparency and inclusivity in the process.
We look forward to the speedy issuance of a genuinely joint letter from the Presidents of this Council and the General Assembly to begin the process and demonstrate shared and equal ownership.
The informal interactive dialogues in the General Assembly with candidates, with the involvement of civil society, have been instrumental to improve transparency and inclusivity and must be safeguarded. And we strongly encourage the Council to increase the transparency of its own deliberative process. White smoke, so to speak, is not enough.
This is a matter of credibility. Candidates deserve to hear results from the Council directly, as do all members of the GA- as it is the General Assembly who ultimately decides on the appointment of the Secretary-General.
We emphasise too the importance of the considerations of geography and gender in the selection and appointment of the next SG, and strongly encourage women candidates .
President,
The Nordic countries consider these as only some of the steps needed to ensure this Council is accountable, transparent, and has the legitimacy and buy in from the broader membership- and the broader public- to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security for another 80 years and beyond.
Thank you.