STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR BURHAN GAFOOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS AT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON “MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY: NEW ORIENTATION FOR REFORMED MULTILATERALISM”, 14 DECEMBER 2022

Thank you Mr President.

1 Singapore deeply appreciates India’s leadership in convening this timely debate on multilateralism. We wish to thank Dr S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, for his opening remarks.

2 For more than seven decades, the United Nations and its network of specialised agencies, funds and programmes have worked hard to keep the peace and bring about sustainable development. We can be proud of the many achievements of the United Nations. And yet, we must acknowledge also the many areas of unfulfilled hopes and ambitions. We are meeting today in the midst of several violent conflicts around the world. Around two billion people live in conflict-affected areas. At the same time, the world has become more multipolar, with many new emerging powers and many centres of economic growth and technological excellence. The case for reforming the United Nations and our multilateral system has never been more urgent.

3 Singapore supports the need for reform in order to strengthen the multilateral system based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law. We also support the need for a reform of the Security Council and we look forward to advancing discussions in the Intergovernmental Negotiation (IGN) process.

4 As this debate seeks to hear Member States’ views on new orientations for reformed multilateralism, Singapore would like to identify some guiding principles to address the question of reform of the multilateral system.

5 Firstly, the foundation of the multilateral system is the United Nations Charter and international law. Any reform exercise must strengthen respect for the Charter and for international law. All members of the United Nations have a responsibility to respect the principles of the Charter and international law. Accordingly, whenever international law and the principles of the Charter are violated, the international community must respond swiftly and take a collective stand. To put it differently, reform must lead to greater accountability whenever the principles of the Charter and international law are violated.

6 Secondly, the Security Council is charged with the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security and the Council itself must live up to its responsibilities. The Security Council must become a platform for open dialogue, active mediation and preventive diplomacy. In particular, Permanent Members of the Security Council must demonstrate exemplary leadership and be a net contributor to peace and security and not become a source of tension and instability. Increasingly, the very nature of security is changing and the Security Council should also address security challenges arising from non-traditional issues, such as climate change. As I said earlier, Singapore supports the need for a reform of the Security Council to reflect contemporary realities. Equally important is that any reform of the Security Council should not marginalise the needs and interests of small countries, many of whom have never served in the Council.

7 Thirdly, a robust multilateral system requires a strengthened role for the General Assembly. In recent months, the General Assembly has clearly shown that it has the capacity and will to act when the Security Council is unable or unwilling to make decisions. In this regard, the adoption of resolution 76/262 in April, which stipulated that the General Assembly would meet whenever a veto is cast in the Security Council, is a significant decision. It is precisely this kind of reform and innovation that can help to strengthen the multilateral system.

8 Fourthly, we need to consider reform in a comprehensive manner, not in a piecemeal manner. We need to look at reform beyond the United Nations system by addressing the overall architecture of the multilateral system. In this regard, there is a clear need to reform the international financial institutions and ensure that they work more closely with the United Nations. We support the idea put forward by the Secretary-General calling for a biennial summit between the members of the G20, the United Nations system and international financial institutions. Such a summit would take place at the United Nations. As we seek to reform multilateralism, we do not need to create new institutions, but we do need to ensure that existing institutions work better, work coherently and in a coordinated manner.

9 Singapore also supports the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda (OCA), which aims to strengthen global governance across areas such as climate change and sustainable development beyond 2030, the international financial system, and the interests of future generations. The Summit of the Future in 2024 will be a major milestone for multilateralism and it gives us an opportunity to address new issues of global governance. In this regard, the Global Digital Compact will be an important contribution. We look forward to receiving the recommendations from the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, which was appointed by the Secretary-General, in order to help build a more effective, networked, and inclusive multilateral system. We also wish to place on record our support for the Secretary-General’s proposal for a New Agenda for Peace.

10 My fifth and final point is that any reform exercise should leverage and empower the good offices of the Secretary-General. Article 99 of the United Nations Charter states that the Secretary-General “may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”. We would support a greater role for the Secretary-General in mediation and conflict prevention. A recent concrete example of the Secretary-General using his good offices is the Black Sea Grain Initiative which has helped ensure food supplies and stabilise food prices globally.

11 In conclusion, let me say that the multilateral system has served us fairly well but there is much more to be done. The world has changed dramatically and we need to adapt the multilateral system to reflect contemporary realities. As the “Declaration on the Commemoration of the 75^th Anniversary of the United Nations” reminds us, our world is not yet the world the founders of the United Nations envisaged. We should work together to strengthen the multilateral system, strengthen respect for international law and make our multilateral system fit-for-purpose and future-ready. Singapore will be an active participant in this urgent and necessary endeavour.

12 Thank you very much for your attention.

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