Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council Draft report submitted by the Chairperson I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 48/26 of 3 December 1993, the General Assembly decided to establish an open-ended working group to consider all aspects of the question of increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council. 2. The Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council began its deliberations in January 1994. The Working Group submitted progress reports to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth to sixty-first sessions. At those sessions, the Assembly extended the mandate of the Working Group. 3. On 23 November 1998, the General Assembly adopted resolution 53/30 in connection with the agenda item of the Working Group entitled “Majority required for taking decisions on Security Council reform”. 4. In the United Nations Millennium Declaration, Heads of State and Government resolved, with respect to the ongoing deliberations on Security Council reform, to intensify their efforts to achieve comprehensive reform of the Council in all its aspects (see General Assembly resolution 55/2, para. 30). 5. In the 2005 World Summit Outcome of 16 September 2005, Heads of State and Government expressed support for early reform of the Security Council and recommended that the Council continue to adapt its working methods (see General Assembly resolution 60/1, paras. 153 and 154). 6. Following the deliberations of the Working Group, the General Assembly, in its decision 61/561 of 17 September 2007, decided that the Working Group should continue its work and should submit a report to the Assembly before the end of its sixty-second session, including any agreed recommendations. The Assembly also decided to consider the issue of Security Council reform, including through intergovernmental negotiations. The present report is submitted pursuant to decision 61/561. II. Sixty-second session of the General Assembly 7. During the general debate of the General Assembly at its sixty-second session, held from 25 September to 3 October 2007, many Heads of State and Government and other high-level representatives of Member States expressed the views of their Governments on the reform of the Security Council. 8. Member States also expressed their views on the reform of the Council when the General Assembly discussed the item entitled “Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters” (item 122) from 12 to 14 November 2007 (see A/62/PV.47-51). Member States expressed their views on various options to bring the process forward and also encouraged the President of the General Assembly to take leadership on the way forward. In his concluding remarks on the item, the President proposed seven principles that were accepted as the basis for the advancement of the process of Security Council reform (A/62/PV.51). III. Proceedings of the Open-ended Working Group during the sixty-second session of the General Assembly A. Organizational matters 9. The President of the General Assembly, Srgjan Kerim, served as Chairperson of the Working Group. 10. On 14 December 2007, the Chairperson appointed Ambassador Ismat Jahan (Bangladesh), Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz (Chile) and Ambassador João M. Guerra Salgueiro (Portugal), as members of the task force established by the Chairperson, to interact with all Member States and to report back to the Chairperson on the outcome of their consultations. 11. On 10 April 2008, the Chairperson also appointed Ambassador Roble Olhaye (Djibouti), as a member of the task force. B. Meetings, informal meetings and consultations of the Working Group 12. In his letter dated 6 December 2007, the President of the General Assembly invited Member States to focus their interventions on identifying concrete elements of negotiables that could form the basis for intergovernmental negotiations, having in mind in particular the report of Open-ended Working Group to the Assembly at its sixty-first session and the positions and proposals of Member States. 13. At its 1st and 2nd meetings, on 14 December 2007, the Chairperson announced the appointment of the task force. Member States exchanged views and reaffirmed their support for the seven principles. Pursuant to those meetings, Member States were invited to identify negotiables that could serve as a basis for intergovernmental negotiations. 14. In his letter dated 3 April 2008, the Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group forwarded to Member States the replies he had received in writing, reflecting various elements of the negotiables as well as views on the process and the way forward from delegations, as well as regional and interest groups: the Group of African States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Overarching Group and Uniting for Consensus (see annex I). 15. At its 3rd and 4th meetings, on 10 April 2008, Member States discussed various elements contained in the written contributions, reaffirmed the relevance of the seven principles and the leadership of the Chairperson acting together with the task force. The Chairperson announced that under his leadership the task force would engage in extensive consultations with Member States in order to assess the current situation and to identify options in order to move forward with the reform of the Security Council. 16. The task force consulted extensively in an objective, transparent and allinclusive manner with all Member States in various formats, through their regional groups, interest groups or individually, from the end of April to the beginning of June 2008. As a result of those consultations, on 9 June 2008 the task force submitted to the Chairperson a report entitled “Report of the ViceChairpersons to the President of the General Assembly on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council”. 17. In his letter dated 11 June 2008, the Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group forwarded to Member States the above report (see annex II). 18. In his letter dated 13 June 2008, the Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group forwarded the letter of the Chairperson of the League of Arab States containing a request for its position to be considered on an equal footing with the other written inputs provided so far, as well as the original positions concerning the issue of the Security Council reform (see annex I). 19. At its 5th and 6th meetings, on 17 June 2008, Member States discussed the report. In his concluding remarks, the Chairperson called on Member States to cooperate closely in order to agree to adopt a decision to move the process forward to the stage of commencing intergovernmental negotiations. 20. At its [...] meeting, on [...] 2008, the Working Group considered its draft report to the General Assembly (A/AC.247/2008/L.1), submitted by the Chairperson. C. Adoption of the report of the Working Group 21. At its [...] meeting, on [...] 2008, the Working Group considered and adopted the present report. IV. Recommendations 22. The Open-ended Working Group decided to recommend that consideration of the item be continued at the sixty-third session of the General Assembly. The Working Group, recalling Assembly decision 61/561 and the progress made during the sixty-second session, recommends to the Assembly the adoption of the following draft decision: “The General Assembly, mindful of the importance of reaching general agreement on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council: 1 Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 47 (A/61/47). 2 To be issued as Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 47 (A/62/47). “(a) Takes note of the report of the Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council on its work during the sixty-second session of the General Assembly;2 “(b) Notes with appreciation the Chairperson’s initiative and efforts in the process of a comprehensive reform of the Security Council, as well as the work done by the Vice-Chairpersons; “(c) Decides that the Working Group should continue to exert efforts during the sixty-third session of the General Assembly aimed at achieving general agreement among Member States in the consideration of all issues relevant to the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council, taking into account the progress achieved from the forty-eighth to sixty-second sessions of the Assembly; “(d) Also decides that the following form a basis for intergovernmental negotiations: (i) The positions and proposals of Member States: African Union, Group of Four, League of Arab States, L.69 Group, Organization of the Islamic Conference, the proposal of the Overarching Group, the perspectives of the permanent members of the Security Council, Small Five States (S-5) and Uniting for Consensus; (ii) The five key issues: categories of membership, the question of the veto, regional representation, size of an enlarged Council and working methods of the Security Council, and the relationship between the Council and the General Assembly; (iii) The following documents: report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council;1 General Assembly decision 61/561; report of the Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council on its work during the sixty-second session of the General Assembly;2 and the seven principles proposed by the President of the General Assembly (A/62/PV. 51); “(e) Further decides, building on the progress achieved so far, in particular during its sixty-first and sixty-second sessions, as well as the positions of and proposals made by Member States, to commence intergovernmental negotiations, in good faith, with mutual respect and in an open, inclusive and transparent manner, on the question of equitable representation and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council, with the objective of seeking a solution that can garner the widest possible agreement among Member States; “(f) Decides that the Working Group should submit a report to the General Assembly before the end of its sixty-third session, including any agreed recommendations.” List of annexes* I. A. Letter dated 3 April 2008 from the President of the General Assembly to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations forwarding the following inputs from Member States: (a) Letter dated 20 March 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Cape Verde to the United Nations; (b) Letter dated 5 March 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations; (c) Letter dated 20 March 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United Nations. B. Letter dated 9 April 2008 from the President of the General Assembly to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations forwarding the letter dated 7 April 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations C. Letter dated 13 June 2008 from the President of the General Assembly to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations forwarding the letter dated 13 June 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Mauritania to the United Nations II. Letter dated 11 June 2008 from the President of the General Assembly to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations forwarding the report of the Vice-Chairpersons to the President of the General Assembly on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council * Full text to be included in the final report. Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 47 (A/61/47). __________________ __________________  sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/AC.247/2008/L.1 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/AC.247/2008/L.1 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 08-49201 \* MERGEFORMAT 6 \* MERGEFORMAT 5 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 08-49201 United Nations A/AC.247/2008/L.1 General Assembly Distr.: Limited 26 August 2008 Original: English jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 08-49201 (E) 280808 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0849201*