The reform of the Security Council is more essential than ever [fr]

Thank you, Co-Presidents,

As this is our first meeting during this session, allow me first of all to congratulate you on your appointment to head the intergovernmental negotiations.

In an international context that compels us, the reform of the Security Council is more essential than ever to reinforce its authority and representativeness, while preserving its executive and decision-making nature. This new round of intergovernmental negotiations must produce tangible and substantial results. For France, the objective is the same: to come up with a single document.

I would like to pay tribute to your efforts, during the last IGN session, to have adopted an innovative approach and instilled a new dynamic in this process, in accordance with General Assembly decision 62/557. Your commitment and availability have facilitated our fruitful, frank and direct exchanges.

We also welcome the open and inclusive discussions that have taken place with experts from the academic world and civil society. These discussions may prove enlightening for our own intergovernmental discussions.

Finally, we take note of the request made to the Security Council to hold joint annual meetings with the Security Council Working Group on Working Methods.

Co-Presidents

I’ll keep my remarks short, because the positions are well known, and we need to leave time for interaction.

Under the Charter, the Security Council exercises its responsibilities on behalf of the members of the Organization. The members of the Council thus exercise this responsibility in the interests of the United Nations and its member states, as a whole, in a national capacity and not on behalf of their geographical group.

The Charter also stipulates that Council members, elected by the General Assembly, should be selected "in the first instance" on the basis of their contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the Organization. Equitable geographical distribution is complementary.

We want the Council to be more representative of today’s world, and to take account of those powers that are willing and able to assume the responsibility of a permanent presence on the Security Council.

In order to preserve its executive and operational nature, as France often repeats, an enlarged Council could therefore have up to 25 members. We support a stronger presence of African countries on the Council, in both membership categories, and support the candidacy of Brazil, Germany, India and Japan as permanent members. The remaining seats could be allocated in such a way as to achieve equitable geographical representation.

Co-Presidents,

We will also have the opportunity to address the question of the veto in a forthcoming debate. With this in mind, we would like to remind you of the initiative that we are promoting jointly with Mexico, which provides for a voluntary and collective suspension of the use of the veto by permanent members in the event of mass atrocities. Today, this initiative has the support of 106 States. We therefore encourage all member states who have not done so, including the permanent members, to support this initiative, which can be done by a simple note verbale.

Thank you.