Momentum on Security Council reform must not falter – Assembly President

Stressing the primary ownership and responsibility of Member States for reshaping the Security Council, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim today urged countries to maintain the current momentum in a process that has been languishing for over a decade.

Reforming the Council is an integral part of strengthening the Organization, and must, therefore, “go hand in hand with the transformation of the wider United Nations system,” Mr. Kerim told the working group tasked with looking into issues such as equitable representation and increased membership on the 15-member body.

As such, “Member States should refrain from steps which could serve to undermine the current momentum and consensus to continue a process with the intention of achieving results-oriented solutions,” he added.

“Further steps must contain components and notions that will allow the membership to reach a general agreement on all aspects of Security Council reform, in particular on both the composition of the Council and its working methods,” Mr. Kerim said, stressing that any agreed changes to the Council must accommodate the interests and concerns of all sides, “especially those who are currently underrepresented.”

The President announced that he was appointing the Ambassadors of Bangladesh, Chile and Portugal to assist him in the working group. Together they will form a task force on Council reform to ensure that the process in conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner and to identify elements for “negotiables.”

Emphasizing that it would be up to States to identify and put forward a document to the task force that could serve as a basis for further negotiations, he called on delegations to begin consultations among themselves in various settings during the following weeks.