STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR BURHAN GAFOOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE, AT THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON “IMPLEMENTATION OF NOTE S/2017/507: WORKING METHODS”, 11 MARCH 2024

Mr President,

                   Thank you very much for convening this timely and important discussion. We commend Japan for taking up the important work of promoting transparency and accountability of the Council as Chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG). We also thank the previous IWG Chair, Albania, for the good work done during the last two years. I thank also our briefer this morning from the Security Council report for her very insightful remarks.

2                 We welcome the E10 statement on working methods that was made by Mozambique earlier. We share their views on this topic.  Please allow me to make some additional points.

3             First, it is important that we keep in mind that the Council’s working methods is fundamentally about ensuring transparency. Transparency in turn is essential for the credibility of the Security Council and for the multilateral system as a whole. It is true that there has been an increase in the number of open meetings of the Council, and we welcome this development. Notwithstanding this positive trajectory, it seems the trend is still for some topics to be discussed only in closed consultations. We understand the need for closed discussions for frank exchanges among Council members. Nonetheless, it is important to keep in mind that the topics that are discussed in closed discussions are often of great concern to all member states. Therefore, we should find a way to their views incorporated and reflected in these discussions. We think that more effort should be made to convene some of these meetings in open format, allowing for the participation especially of concerned member states. And at the very least, if an open meeting is not possible, summary records of the closed consultations should be made available to the wider membership.

4             Second, the Council acts on behalf of the wider membership on international peace and security and should be accountable for its decisions. Singapore had previously suggested, pursuant to paragraph 129 of Note 507, that an exchange between the Council and the wider membership should take place when the annual report is being drafted. We are therefore very pleased that the UK has taken up this initiative in convening an informal consultation on the annual report in January. We hope that this will become an annual practice going forward.

5             We also note that Paragraph 138 of Note 507 encourages the President of the Council in charge of presenting the report to the General Assembly to report to the Council members on relevant suggestions and observations raised during the General Assembly debate on the Annual Report. However, it is not clear to us if there has been any such report back to the Council Members. We would suggest that the Council Members should convene soon after the General Assembly debate to assess and discuss the General Assembly debate on the Annual Report of the Council. It is also important that a summary of this meeting of the Council should be shared with all members of the UN.

6             We also call on all Council Presidents to submit their monthly assessments pursuant to paragraph 136 of Note 507, as these provide an important flow of information from the Council to the wider UN membership. In 2023, just seven of twelve Council Presidents submitted their monthly assessment. There needs to be more concerted and genuine effort in this regard.

7             Third, the effectiveness of the Council has taken a sharp dive in the past year. Just last week, we met in the General Assembly to discuss yet another veto which prevented the Security Council from issuing an urgently needed response to the conflict in Gaza. Since the veto initiative resolution was adopted in April 2022, we have seen 12 vetoes. This merits a deep reflection on the section on “Intra-Council Cooperation and Consultation” in Note 507 (paragraphs 74 to 77). In particular, we think it is time to insert concrete ideas into the updated Note to clearly articulate the UN membership’s expectation for Council members, particularly the permanent members, to act in unity to discharge their responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Singapore also supports the French-Mexican initiative and the ACT’s code of conduct on limiting the use of the veto against mass atrocity crimes, and believe that Council members, particularly the permanent members, should abstain from voting if they are a party to a dispute, in line with Article 27(3) of the UN Charter. We believe that this Article merits further discussions. 

Mr President,

8             I conclude by thanking Japan for its continued efforts on this issue, and look forward to practical reforms under your leadership. Singapore supports your intention to follow up on today’s debate through deliberations on an updated Note 507. We call on all Council members, particularly the permanent members, to engage constructively in this initiative to improve the working methods of the Council.

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