REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR BURHAN GAFOOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATIONS ON SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM, 7 NOVEMBER 2016

1        Thank you very much, Madame President.  I join previous speakers in congratulating Ambassador Ion Jinga of Romania and Ambassador Mohamed Khiari of Tunisia on their appointment to lead the work of the IGN (Inter-Governmental Negotiations) on Security Council reform.   I assure them of the support of my delegation.

2        We begin today the 13^th round of the IGN on Security Council reform.  The stark reality is that we have been talking about Security Council reform for more than a decade without making any progress.  So we need to ask some hard questions: are we serious about the IGN process?  Are we serious about Security Council reform?  Has the IGN process become a ritual with no outcome, a ritual that over time has become an end in itself?  If this is just a ritual with no outcome, what is the real utility of this process?  After a decade, has the IGN become an integral part of the landscape of the status-quo?  Or is the IGN a vehicle to change the status-quo?  Madame President, I leave these questions for reflection by all members.    

3        There is a more fundamental question that needs to be answered, if not publicly then at least privately. Are the permanent members really interested in Security Council reform of any kind?  No one here is naive to believe that the P5, as privileged members of the status-quo, will be enthusiastic champions of Security Council reform.  However, what exactly are the elements of reform that the P5 members are prepared to accept?  Do the P5 members want the IGN process to deliver any outcome?  And if so, what kind of outcome?  And what kind of timeline do they have in mind?  We would need greater clarity on the P5’s positions in order to make progress in the IGN. 

4        Madame President, we cannot continue our work in a business-as-usual manner.  The world has changed considerably since the UN was established in 1945.   The UN is now facing more intractable challenges than ever to peace and security.  Yet, the Security Council,  which is tasked with the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, remains deeply paralysed.  The Security Council is unable to deal with real conflict situations in Syria and in Yemen, at the cost of so many innocent lives. 

5        Just a month ago, the world witnessed an unusual spectacle of vetoes and counter-vetoes in the Security Council over the question of Syria.  If there was any proof needed for urgent reforms to the Security Council, that meeting a month ago provided a strong case. If the Security Council, in particular the permanent members, are unable to exercise leadership to resolve pressing issues of the day, the case for reform becomes stronger, not weaker.  And if the P5 were to use the Security Council as the platform to advance their own interests or to push their own pet agendas, then Member States will become cynical about the role of the Council.  Ultimately, the need for Security Council reform is linked to the need to preserve the credibility of the United Nations, the credibility of the Security Council and most importantly, the credibility of the permanent members of the Security Council.  It is therefore vitally important that the IGN should deliver an outcome that will strengthen the effectiveness, accountability, inclusiveness and transparency of the Security Council. 

Madame President,

6        My delegation is ready to engage constructively and we are committed to making genuine progress in the IGN.  I wish to provide a brief recap of Singapore’s position on the question of UNSC reform. We support expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership to make the Council more representative and inclusive.  But we also believe that any reform of the Security Council must go beyond just increasing the number of seats.  Reform should make the Council more accountable, transparent and inclusive for everyone, not just for aspirants to permanent membership.  This is an important issue for many small states, as we do not have many opportunities to serve in the Council.  We therefore attach great importance to improving the working methods of the Council. We have made a number of practical proposals to enhance the transparency and accountability of the Security Council.  Of note, we have joined many countries to support limiting the use of the veto by the P5.  We do not support extending the veto to new permanent members as we do not think additional vetoes will enhance the effectiveness of the Council to respond to threats to peace and security.  We hope that the 13^th IGN process will take these proposals up when it resumes its work later this year.

7        Madame President, as we start a new round of negotiations, I would like to make some general points:

8        First, we need to inject greater urgency in our work.  The IGN in particular must discuss the elephant in the room and address the use of the veto.  If we fail to do so, we will relegate the work of the IGN to irrelevance.

9        Singapore supports the French-Mexican initiative calling on the P5 to voluntarily and collectively pledge not to use the veto in cases of recognised mass atrocities.  We also support  the ACT’s initiative on a code of conduct on Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.  We welcome the fact that two P5 members support the ACT’s initiative to restrict the use of the veto in certain circumstances.  We think that their leadership on this specific issue is commendable.  Clearly, there is a growing momentum and growing urgency in favour of limiting the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities.   The IGN must recognise this trend and focus its attention on this important issue in order to make concrete progress.  We also welcome the recent establishment of the Group of Friends on UNSC reform, which includes, we note, the participation of two P5 members.  

10      Secondly, Madame President, much work has already been done in the IGN process.  We should not start from scratch but rather build on the good work done.  We have a useful framework document which was circulated by the 69^th President of the General Assembly in July 2015.  We need to build on this framework document and find common ground on each of the five key issues.

11      Some progress was also achieved this year.  Under IGN Chair Sylvie Lucas of Luxembourg, we prepared elements of convergence on two of the five key issues of Security Council reform.  We need to continue to identify similar elements of convergence on the other three key issues.  As I mentioned earlier, there is growing support for limiting the use of the veto and we hope that the IGN can make progress on this important issue.

12      The third and last issue that I would like to raise is that we need to prioritise our work and try to identify quick areas for implementation.  Even as we try to identify areas of convergence in the other three outstanding areas, we should re-look the elements of convergence paper and work to identify practical steps we can take now, without any UN Charter amendments, to improve the practices of the current Council.  The IGN process can and must make progress in areas where there is strong support from the UN membership. 

Madame President,

13      The appointment of two co-chairs is a good start.  It shows our willingness to think out of the box and try fresh approaches.   Hopefully, with two co-chairs, we can double our effort in search for progress.  You have set the tone for the IGN process in the 71^st session.  My delegation will work with you and the two co-chairs to achieve a good outcome.  I thank you very much, Madame President.

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