United Nations A/60/PV.49 Official Records General Assembly Sixtieth session 49th plenary meeting Friday, 11 November 2005, 10 a.m. New York President: Mr. Eliasson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Sweden) In the absence of the President, Mr. Hamidon (Malaysia), Vice-President, took the Chair. The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m. Agenda items 9 and 117 (continued) Report of the Security Council (A/60/2) Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters Mr. Kuchinsky (Ukraine): First, I would like to express our gratitude to the President of the Security Council for the month of November, Ambassador Andrey Denisov of the Russian Federation, for his comprehensive presentation of the annual report of the Council to the General Assembly. We are encouraged by the attention paid in the presentation to the increase in the transparency of the Council's activities and in the improvement of its working methods, in particular in the triangular relationship between the Security Council, the United Nations Secretariat and troopcontributing countries. The period under review was indeed very eventful for the United Nations and, therefore, for the Security Council, as its nerve centre. Constant threats and challenges, having no respect for the United Nations sixtieth anniversary, continued to challenge the durability of the system of international peace and security guarded by the Organization, more than ever requiring urgent and resolute action by the Security Council. How, then, did the body entrusted with the primary responsibility to keep the peace address those challenges during that period? Let me try to answer that question, which I believe is of the utmost importance for all of us. Without any doubt, international terrorism remains one of the greatest threats to international peace and security. In that connection, I would like to add Ukraine's voice to the unanimous strong condemnation of the terrorist bombings in Amman, and to convey our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of those heinous attacks and their families, and to the people and the Government of Jordan. Ukraine is convinced that the Security Council should continue to use its unique potential to mobilize the international community to fight the scourge of terrorism. We welcome the steps taken by the Security Council in that direction, in particular through its resolution 1624 (2005). The Counter-Terrorism Committee should continue to be a crucial instrument in the hands of nations to combat, and ultimately eliminate, terrorism. We believe that early adoption of a comprehensive convention to combat terrorism will greatly facilitate the Council's efforts in that crucial area. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction continues to be another issue posing a major threat to the system of collective security. The Council must continue to play its role in multilateral efforts to strengthen the non-proliferation regime. We welcome This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-154A. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum. 05-59965 (E) *0559965* A/60/PV.49 the progress made in the implementation of Council resolution 1540 (2004), as well as in the work of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to that resolution. At this stage it is important to provide assistance to States, including through the Committee, to ensure the proper implementation of that important resolution. This year the Security Council has shown unity in addressing the situation in Iraq. We firmly believe that the Council's instruments are very important for normalizing the situation in that country. It is important for the Council to ensure the effective implementation of the existing timetable for a comprehensive political transition process in the country, namely, through holding free and democratic elections in December and through the formation of a permanent Government of Iraq. The work of the Council with regard to Afghanistan should be commended. We are nevertheless convinced that the main responsibility for finding a political solution to the Afghan issue lies with the Afghan people themselves. The Council should continue to be actively involved in all clusters of the Afghan problem. There still remains a pressing need for continued international security assistance in Afghanistan. My delegation commends the Council's efforts in the Middle East peace process. Resolution 1515 (2003) reflects the wide consensus within the international community on how best to achieve the existence of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. With its endorsement of the Quartet's road map, that resolution was an important step towards the beginning of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and from parts of the northern West Bank. We believe that successful disengagement can be the first step towards the resumption of the peace process. We hope that the Council will urge the relevant parties to cooperate sincerely and fully with the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission, which in accordance with Council resolutions 1595 (2005) and 1636 (2005), is assisting the Lebanese authorities in their investigation of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The unfolding status talks in the Balkans give us a hope for an early settlement of the daunting Kosovo issue. The Security Council has played its role in the commencement of that process, and I am confident in my belief that it should continue its active engagement and support at this stage and in the next and decisive phase of implementation of resolution 1244 (1999). Ukraine welcomes the continued active engagement of the Council with regard to conflict resolution in Africa. We especially support and welcome the trend towards increased use of Africanowned mechanisms in that area. Ukraine took positive note of the declaration on conflict prevention, particularly in Africa (Security Council resolution 1625 (2005), annex), which was adopted at the Council summit in September. The implementation of that important document will logically build upon the outcome of the 2000 Security Council summit on ensuring an effective role for the Council in the maintenance of international peace and security, particularly in Africa (Security Council resolution 1318 (2000)). I wish to recall once again that that was done on the initiative of my country. We welcome the trend towards further strengthening the cooperation between the Security Council and regional organizations. There have been quite a few encouraging examples over the past decade of how United Nations peacekeeping missions can be effectively supported and complemented by United Nations-mandated operations of other organizations. The United Nations could, and should, actively use that important tool and rely increasingly on the potential of regional structures. Let me now turn to an issue that, whatever its fundamental importance in itself, has further galvanized the international situation in the context of the September summit. I am of course referring to Security Council reform. Ukraine considers reform of the Security Council to be of exceptional international significance. Making that body more representative and balanced, and its work more effective and transparent, especially with regard to the decisionmaking process, is vital for adapting the United Nations to the realities of the twenty-first century. Our overall approach to the issue is based on the following pillars. Security Council reform should be implemented in strict compliance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The enlargement of the Council should be carried out in both categories of membership, permanent and non-permanent. We 2 A/60/PV.49 support increased representation in that body for developing countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Since the membership of the Group of Eastern European States has doubled over the last decade, it should have an additional non-permanent seat in the Council. The Security Council's structural reform and the improvement of its working methods should go hand in hand. In particular, those countries that contribute the most to the Organization -- militarily, diplomatically and financially -- should be more involved in the Council's decision-making process. Ukraine has consistently supported the limitation of the use of the veto by the Security Council permanent five. We believe that Council enlargement is an integral part of the comprehensive United Nations reform agenda aimed at enabling it to effectively react to the challenges and opportunities of today's world, in the security, development and human rights fields alike. That agenda encompasses such crucial elements as revitalization of the General Assembly; strengthening of the United Nations human rights mechanisms through the establishment of the Human Rights Council; reform of the Economic and Social Council; establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission; and, of course, management reform. It is regrettable that the quantity of debates held and options proposed on Security Council reform on the eve of, and during, the September summit did not translate into quality results. Still, we hope that the momentum will be maintained and, hopefully, lead to early reform in this area -- so vital to our Organization -- as sought in the outcome document of the summit. Ukraine remains fully committed to that objective. Mr. Grey-Johnson (Gambia): The report of the Security Council for the period 1 August 2004 to 31 July 2005 shows that progress has been achieved in tackling problems related to peace and security in some countries and regions of the world. It thus lays down the building blocks for concerted action aimed at achieving even more in the year ahead. My delegation would have liked to have seen a more extensive analysis of the Council's activities that could have been the basis for improvements in future. We all were encouraged by the positive developments in the Middle East and the bold and courageous initiatives taken by both the Israeli and the Palestinian leaderships towards resolving some of the intractable problems at the root of the conflict between the two neighbours. That led us to believe that efforts in the context of the road map were, in fact, on course towards the realization of the vision of the two States living side by side in peace. Alas, the developments since have been threatening those gains and require that the Security Council once more be purposeful and innovative in ensuring that all concerned remain steadfast towards the attainment of the objectives of peace. This long-running conflict has created ripples that have caused much damage throughout the world. It is in our collective interest, therefore, that an early and durable solution be found. Elsewhere in the Middle East, tensions are either escalating or are brewing dangerously. The situation in Iraq is not abating. On the contrary, the scale of violence appears to be increasing from day to day, with untold suffering and loss of life and limb among innocent Iraqi civilians. My delegation urges all concerned to begin considering less confrontational and militaristic approaches to the resolution of the conflict in that country. There are clear early warning signs of an impending explosion in neighbouring countries. My delegation strongly urges the Council to do everything in its power to prevent an eruption of violence in any form in the countries bordering Iraq, as such an occurrence could totally destabilize the entire region, an eventuality whose consequences would be dire for the rest of the world. Let me take this opportunity to express to the Government and the people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan my Government's deepest condolences in connection with the terrorist attack carried out in Amman yesterday, which caused serious casualties among innocent civilians. Turning now to the Council's work in the African region, my delegation is heartened by the steady gains that have been made in containing or reducing the scale of conflicts on the continent. In Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, the Central African Republic and Burundi, the fires of war have been put out, the political transition has been completed and the countries concerned have been readied for partnership with the international community in peacebuilding and development. We commend the Council for steadfastly 3 A/60/PV.49 pursuing the peace agenda in these countries and for the outstanding results achieved. There is still some unfinished business in certain parts of the continent, which will hopefully be very much a part of the agenda for the future. There is still the case of the forgotten imbroglio in Somalia, whose neglect on our part may be short-sighted if not totally counterproductive. Because of the long period of statelessness and isolation it experienced, Somalia may now have become a fertile breeding ground and haven for terrorists. The frequency of piracy attacks and other acts of terrorism against cargo and passenger vessels bears testimony to this sad development. My delegation strongly urges the Council to enter into a more proactive engagement with Somalia so as to bring it back into the comity of nations. In the period under review, the Council has significantly built upon its partnership with regional and subregional organizations in advancing the peace and security agenda in Africa. Working closely with the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, it has been able to make significant gains in countries such as the Sudan and Guinea-Bissau. Together they have also been able to deliberate on strategies for tackling problems that drive conflicts, such as cross-border security issues. We hope that this partnership will be further refined and used to much greater effect in the search for solutions to the continent's problems of peace and security. It could also provide a good model for cooperation that can be replicated in other parts of the world. My delegation aligns itself fully with the statement made by the Ambassador of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the Group of African States. We fully concur that the time has indeed come for one of history's greatest injustices to be corrected and for Africa to be accorded two permanent seats in the Council, with all the rights and privileges that go with membership in that category, including the right to the veto. My delegation also reiterates the call by the African Union for Africa to be accorded two additional non-permanent seats in the Council. As the report itself acknowledges in its introduction, "Africa figured, once again, at the forefront of the Council's agenda". Is it not right, therefore, for Africa to be at the table along with those who take decisions that affect its future? We urge all delegations to support Africa's request and the draft resolution that the African Group will eventually put up for action to give effect to it. My delegation strongly believes that more should be done by way of an in-depth review of the working methods of the Council. Specifically, attention must be focused on the veto in all its aspects, with a view to ascertaining the degree of its usefulness vis-à-vis today's requirements for global peace and security. We are aware that there are moves to introduce a draft resolution on the working methods of the Council -- a draft resolution that is, in our view, incomplete at this stage. The draft calls for wider consultation and for a fuller assessment of the reforms realistically required to make the Council's working methods more transparent, democratic and effective. We are prepared to work with its sponsors to make it more acceptable to a larger number of delegations. Finally, my delegation commends the outgoing members of the Council -- Algeria, Benin, Brazil, the Philippines and Romania -- for a very productive term of office in the Council. We express our congratulations and best wishes for an equally successful term to the incoming members -- the Congo, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and Slovakia. Mr. Desmoures (Argentina) (spoke in Spanish): First of all, I should like to join previous speakers in expressing my country's sincere condolences to the Government and the people of Jordan for the terrorist attacks committed last Wednesday in the city of Amman. On various occasions, we have stated that Argentina supports a solution with regard to Security Council reform that is based on a broad consensus. In recent months, we have witnessed the negative consequences of the intention to impose a reform process through the pressure of a vote. We all saw how that created an atmosphere of division and tension, which affected the spirit of the negotiations on the reform document (resolution 60/1) adopted at the summit of heads of State or Government in September. We therefore welcome the current consultations. We have a working group that could be used to follow the path of dialogue, analysis and consensus-building. We must begin a stage of deliberation and begin to analyse -- jointly, calmly and in a spirit of openness and cooperation -- the various options that already 4 A/60/PV.49 exist concerning expansion and working methods. We should also consider new approaches. We have indicated many times that the nature of the permanent membership is an inequity that must be corrected in the future. If we add new permanent members, the asymmetry that affects the legal equality of States will only further increase. That is why we continue to stress the advantages of the larger number of non-permanent seats for developing countries offered by the expansion model proposed by the Uniting for Consensus group. As affirmed by several of the group's members, the ideas of Uniting for Consensus offer the possibility of resolving in a positive manner the imbalances and asymmetries that would be caused by the potential creation of new permanent members. Such proposals -- with improvements or variations and on the basis of an expanded number of elected seats -- could include longer periods, renewable mandates and legitimate rotation criteria. The Assembly should therefore give the working group a consultative aspect in order to continue to address this complex and political issue. We must continue the dialogue and build a consensus. We believe that priority must be given to the efforts being made in the ongoing negotiations on the establishment of a Human Rights Council and a Peacebuilding Commission and on administrative issues. Mr. Pak Gil Yon (Democratic People's Republic of Korea): The Security Council and the United Nations were established with the mission of maintaining international peace and security. Regrettably, however, during the 60 years since the Organization's inception, the world has never been at peace at all. The world was unstable in the 1990s because of the cold war and it continued to be unstable after the cold war because of unforeseen territorial and ethnic disputes. It remains unstable owing to the increasingly provocative unilateralism and arbitrariness of the super-Power. The overall situation demands that Member States review the activities of the Security Council -- which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security -- on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations. They must also take adequate measures to meet the requirements of the current, changed environment. Historically, the element of impartiality has been missing from the activities of the Security Council, which has failed to fulfil its mandate of ensuring international peace and security in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. In the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, the so-called United Nations Command, which has existed for more than half a century, is a typical product of the partiality observed in the Council's activities. As explained time and again in this forum, the United Nations Command is a de facto United States Command with United Nations helmets, which demonstrates the abuse of the United Nations name while carrying out the United States strategy aimed at the domination of Asia. The delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea believes that, in light of the lessons learned from 60 years of United Nations history and from the current situation, it is most urgent that the Security Council ensure impartiality and fairness in its activities, so that it can carry out its responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. Therefore, if there is to be genuine Council reform, measures should be taken to remove all elements of partiality from the Council's activities and to expand the Council. Establishing a mechanism for the General Assembly to endorse Security Council resolutions on the use of force would be such a measure. With regard to expansion of the Security Council, we must ensure full representation of the Non-Aligned Movement and developing countries, which constitute the majority of the United Nations membership. We believe that that would enable us to redress the imbalance in the Council membership and would give all Member States a more equal opportunity to participate in Council activities, in keeping with the purposes of United Nations reform. Unlike the situation with regard to non-permanent Council seats, increasing the number of permanent seats involves sensitive and intricate issues, such as the criteria for selection and eligibility for the veto power. This year's intensive discussions on various proposals -- including that of the group of four countries -- revealed the extreme complexity of the reform process. It is a well-known fact that the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is opposed to Japan's efforts to become a permanent member of the Security Council because that country has not sincerely 5 A/60/PV.49 atoned for its tremendous past crimes against humanity. Our position enjoys wide understanding and support, not only from neighbouring countries but also from a significant number of other countries from Asia and throughout the world. The delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would like to conclude its statement by expressing its strong belief that issues -- including equal representation on and enlargement of the Security Council -- should be resolved in the interests of developing countries. Mr. Kirn (Slovenia): Allow me to begin by condemning the terrorist attacks that took place in Amman on Wednesday. I express the deep sympathy and condolences of my Government to the Government and the people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the human losses caused by those barbaric attacks. I would like to thank Ambassador Andrey Denisov of the Russian Federation, current President of the Security Council, for his introduction of this year's report of the Council to the General Assembly (A/60/2). During the period under review the Council continued to be active on a wide array of countryspecific, region-specific and thematic issues. As the Council's report attests, both the volume and the scope of the Council's activities continue to increase. Let me make some brief comments on some elements of the report. Slovenia's Foreign Minister, in his capacity as Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), had the opportunity to address the Council earlier this year and to engage in substantive interaction with Council members. That discussion was also useful from the OSCE's perspective. We believe such exchanges with regional organizations are welcome and necessary, and we support further intensification of institutional relationships with regional organizations. In addition to the practice of missions conducted by the Council, we would also like to support the holding of extraordinary meetings outside Headquarters, such as the meeting held at Nairobi last November. Such meetings held outside New York, when appropriate, bring the work of the Council closer to the peoples of affected areas under the Council's consideration. We commend the Council for instituting commissions of inquiry, such as the one established last year for Darfur, Sudan, and the one set up this year for the investigation of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Such inquiry processes help gather data and information in an impartial and expeditious manner. We would in particular like to recognize the historic significance of resolution 1593 (2005), as well as to commend the Council for making use of the Article 13 (b) of the Rome Statute to refer the situation in Darfur since 1 July 2002 to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC is now fully operational and is well equipped to deal in an impartial judicial manner with situations of gross crimes and atrocities within its mandate. The work of the ICC is, in our view, a necessary part of endeavours to maintain international peace and security, and can therefore be very complementary to the work of the Security Council. I will not dwell on specific country or regional situations, except to briefly welcome the Council's recent decision to give the green light for the Kosovo future status process to move forward, for we believe that further stalling would not be beneficial either to the resolution of the matter and Kosovo's stabilization or for the stabilization of the wider region. With regard to thematic issues, we would like in particular to commend the Council for its innovative approaches, including its drawing up of lists of State and non-State violators in connection with the subject of children and armed conflict. We hope that the monitoring and reporting mechanism that has been agreed will soon begin its work. The Council should also be commended for the recently commemorated fifth anniversary of resolution 1324 (2000), on women and peace and security. Those and other thematic deliberations make an important contribution to the protection of civilians and enhance the human security of vulnerable individuals in dire situations. Let me now make some comments regarding the outcome document (resolution 60/1) of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, which was adopted by our leaders in September, as it relates to the work of the Council. First, Slovenia welcomes the outcome document's affirmation of the responsibility to protect. We understand this as a conceptual breakthrough towards better prevention of future tragedies of the kind that occurred in Srebrenica, Rwanda and Darfur. It 6 A/60/PV.49 entails our national and collective responsibility to act in cases of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity. That responsibility is an integral part of a nation's sovereignty as it relates to the protection of its people against such atrocities. But we also understand that responsibility as an onus on the Security Council to act, when need be, in the exercise of its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. We further consider the use of the veto in connection with the atrocities I have mentioned to be fundamentally incompatible with the very idea of the responsibility to protect. While we fully support the provisions in the summit outcome document regarding the use of force under the Charter of the United Nations, we must also state that we would have wished for more ambitions provisions in the document regarding the principles for the use of force, as had previously been suggested by the Secretary-General in his report issued last March entitled "In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all" (A/59/2005). We hope that further work can be done in that regard at an appropriate opportunity. We believe that better-defined guidelines for the use of force by the Council would contribute both to predictability of action and to the Council's credibility. We would like to call upon the Council to continue to engage in dialogue with the other relevant parts of the United Nations system -- for example, through briefings provided by the High Commissioner for Human Rights. We would also invite the Council to contribute to, and support, the United Nations in establishing an early warning capability, in accordance with paragraph 138 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome. We also encourage the Council to make full use of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, to benefit from his briefings and to follow up on his recommendations for the prevention of future genocide. Finally, I cannot but reiterate Slovenia's position reflecting our commitment to comprehensive Security Council reform. We continue to believe that the increasing volume and scope of the Council's activities prompt us to recognize the need to adapt the Security Council's membership in both its permanent and nonpermanent categories, as well at its methods of work, including the right to the veto, in order that the Council may efficiently address the geopolitical realities of today's world. As we have continuously advocated for the past year, the Eastern European region should not be left out when the number of non-permanent seats are increased. Slovenia will therefore continue to support efforts to enlarge the Council in both its permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. We also believe that the time has now come to increase the transparency and accessibility of the Council vis-à-vis the wider membership of the Organization. We therefore support the calls from the wider membership for more transparent and efficient working methods. We believe that improved working methods are necessary to better enable the Organization, including the Security Council, to collectively address today's threats and challenges in a globalized world. Greater openness to general views in the Council's decision-making process, and in particular when it results in semi-legislative decisions under Chapter VII of the Charter, will, in our view, increase both the effectiveness and the legitimacy of the Council. Slovenia supports progress in both aspects of Security Council reform: enlargement and working methods. For the reasons I have mentioned, Slovenia supports the initiative announced by Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland with regard to a draft resolution on the working methods of the Security Council. We welcome the initiative both we have not been able to move forward within the Open-ended Working Group and on the basis of the world summit outcome document (resolution 60/1), in particular its paragraph 154. But, most important, we believe, in fact, that the proposals contained in this initiative are long overdue. We believe it is appropriate for the General Assembly, based, inter alia, on Article 10 of the Charter, to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the Security Council on working methods to bring about greater transparency, representativity, efficiency, effectiveness, legitimacy and implementation of the Council's decisions. Mr. Dapkiunas (Belarus) (spoke in Russian): Let me thank Ambassador Denisov for introducing the annual report on the work of the Security Council (A/60/2). The delegation of Belarus commends the Council for its work during the reporting period to maintain peace and security in various regions of the world, particularly in Africa. 7 A/60/PV.49 The recent tragic events in Jordan demonstrate the importance of the Council's work in combating terrorism and other global threats. Today, we convey our sincere condolences to the people and the Government of Jordan on the large loss of life caused by those terrorist acts. Belarus commends Member States for their efforts in the run-up to the United Nations summit to advance the issue of Security Council reform. Those efforts significantly reinvigorated the discussion on the issue of Council expansion. We are sincerely grateful to the group of four countries -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- to the African Union (AU) and to the Uniting for Consensus group, for their important contributions to the discussion on ways to enlarge the Security Council. Belarus itself has tried to contribute to the process of Council reform, particularly by presenting its own model of expansion of the membership. At all phases of the discussion of approaches to United Nations reform, Belarus has advocated enlargement of the Security Council in order to harmonize its membership with today's international political realities, to ensure adequate geographical representation in the Council and to democratize that important United Nations organ. We fully recognize the importance of achieving the broadest possible consent and compromise among Members on key aspects of Council reform, including options both for enlargement of its membership and for the improvement of its working methods. We are certain that only by duly taking into account the views of all Member States will reform of the Security Council enhance the effectiveness of the work of that United Nations body and build the international community's trust in it. Key elements of the position of Belarus on this issue continue to be expansion of representation of developing countries in the Council, as well as the granting of one additional non-permanent seat to the Eastern European regional group. Unfortunately, active discussion on the issue of Council reform during the run-up to the summit focused essentially on ways to expand the membership; the issue of improving the Council's working methods and procedures was not given due attention. We believe that enhancing the effectiveness of the activities of the Council depends equally on the enlargement of the membership and on improvement of its working methods. This is precisely why we welcome the draft resolution on the working methods of the Security Council that has been prepared by Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland. It contains a number of important elements that can improve the Security Council's interaction with the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and all States Members of the Organization. It would also create an environment for rapid and effective implementation of Council decisions. Belarus stands ready to take part in discussions on that important and highly promising document. Mr. Kapoma (Zambia): Let me begin by conveying the condolences of my Government to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to its Government, to the families of those who lost their lives and to those who sustained injuries in the terrorist acts that befell that country two days ago. My delegation would like to associate itself with the statement made by the representative of Nigeria on behalf of the African Union (AU). The Security Council is the only principal organ of the United Nations that has an overriding mandate and whose decisions and resolutions are binding on all Member States. It is an organ that is entrusted with the responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and is also the only organ some of whose members possess special privileges. It is that special mandate that necessitates reform of the Council so as to make it transparent, democratic and accountable to the general membership of the United Nations. Reform of the Security Council, as is well known, has been on the agenda of the General Assembly for over a decade; in its resolution 48/26 of 3 December 1993, the Assembly decided to establish an Openended Working Group to consider all aspects of the question of increase in the membership of the Security Council and its working methods and other matters related to it. Since the Working Group began its deliberations in January 1994, little if any progress has been made. Hence the current debate aimed at making the Council more responsive to today's realities in world affairs. At the fifty-ninth session, the General Assembly, pursuant to the Secretary-General's report entitled "In larger freedom: towards development, security and 8 A/60/PV.49 human rights for all", (A/59/2005) which was a result of the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change (A/59/565), deliberated in depth on the recommendation contained in those two documents relating to reform of the Security Council. Regrettably, it failed to reach agreement on the enlargement of the Council, especially on an increase in the permanent-member category. The three draft resolutions that were submitted to the General Assembly -- by the group of four countries, the African Union and the Uniting for Consensus group, respectively -- prior to the summit in September did not receive the required consensus support and, as a result, the issue was referred to the sixtieth session. The September 2005 summit outcome document (resolution 60/1) urged the sixtieth session of the General Assembly to review progress on reform by the end of this year. It is therefore incumbent upon the Assembly to implement what was mandated by our heads of State and Government, as set out in the outcome document. Africa, through the African Union, has its own position on the reform of the Security Council which is well known by all the States Members of the United Nations. The African Union draft resolution (A/59/L.67) was submitted to this General Assembly in July and seeks the following: not less than two permanent seats for Africa, with all the prerogatives and privileges of permanent membership, including the right of veto; five non-permanent seats for Africa; and improved Council working methods. In an effort to break the current impasse, Africa will continue to hold consultations with all interested groups, regions and individual Member States, with a view to finding a solution satisfactory to all. Africa's position is a principled one, in that Africa is the only continent without a permanent seat on the Security Council. We see no moral justification for the perpetuation of this historical injustice. In our desire to have at least two permanent seats, we do not subscribe to the notion of having two categories of permanent members, one category with veto powers and the other with none, as that state of affairs, in our view, would not add value to the status quo as far as Africa is concerned. It is with this in mind that Africa is urging other Member States to support Africa's position and, subsequently, its draft resolution. At this session, the Assembly has a unique opportunity to contribute to the reform of the Security Council in order to make it more democratic, accountable, efficient and transparent, so that it can be relevant to today's world, as opposed to that of 1945. My delegation therefore wishes to appeal to all Member States to engage in serious consultations in order to ensure that at the end of the day we will have a Security Council that will be not only representative but also, in all its actions and decisions, accountable to the totality of the United Nations. Reform will have to involve both enlargement in the permanent and nonpermanent categories and working methods. My delegation regards enlargement of the Security Council and reform of its working methods as two sides of the same coin; therefore, they should be addressed as such. Let us seize this occasion and carry out the mandate entrusted to us by our leaders, as expressed in the September 2005 outcome document, in the interest of the well-being of the United Nations. Nana Effah-Apenteng (Ghana): At the outset, allow me to express my delegation's appreciation to Ambassador Andrey Denisov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation and President of the Security Council for this month, for his introduction of the annual report of the Security Council covering the period 1 August 2004 to 31 July 2005 (A/60/2). But before proceeding any further, my delegation would like to express its condolences to the Government and the people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the terrorist attacks in Amman last Wednesday. Our sympathies go in particular to those whose family members or friends lost their lives or were injured in the bomb attacks. The report of the Security Council clearly conveys a picture of the busy schedule that has characterized its work during the period under review. My delegation would like to express its appreciation for the Council's comprehensive approach to dealing with the maintenance of international peace and security, in the light of the growing volume and complexity of conflict situations spanning the various regions of the world. I must also remark on the early issuance of the Council's report, which is an improvement on last year, and on the fact that the two agenda items currently under consideration have been rightly reorganized into a joint debate format. 9 A/60/PV.49 The Council's continued dedication of a majority of its agenda to the several conflict situations on the African continent is worthy of mention. It is our hope that the devotion of such time and effort will be translated into needed solutions, with appropriate political support and resources. In that regard, my delegation urges the Council to continue to explore and build on the United Nations institutional relationship with the African Union (AU), especially within the framework of the expanded mandate and new organs of the AU, such as the Peace and Security Council. We cannot but commend the Council for holding a special series of meetings in Nairobi, in November 2004. That initiative displayed a unique hands-on approach by the Council in dealing with conflict situations and fostering closer relations with regional organizations, and it is worthy of appropriate replication. We should also like to urge the deepening of the relationship between the Council and regional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in order to identify ways in which such vital partnerships could contribute to preventing, combating and eradicating the scourge of conflicts that have come to characterize our region. Given the improvements in the security situations in Sierra Leone and Liberia, we would like to encourage the Council to remain fully engaged in finding a lasting solution to the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, which has in recent times seen escalating tensions that could potentially result in a relapse into full-blown conflict, reversing the hard-won gains made in the region. While we welcome the increased consultations between the Council and the wider membership of the United Nations, it is my delegation's considered view that such interaction could be improved upon, both in terms of frequency and in terms of reflecting the views of non-member States in the decisions of the Council. Similarly, we commend the activities of the consultative mechanism to further improve cooperation between the Council and troop-contributing countries, especially the growing regularity and frequency of meetings with those countries. My delegation believes that this consultative mechanism has inherent benefits to all the parties involved in peacekeeping. On the reform of the Security Council, my delegation reaffirms its commitment to the African position in all its aspects, as eloquently articulated at the 47th plenary meeting by my Nigerian colleague on behalf of the African Group. Let me stress the need to rectify the existing historical injustice against Africa reflected in the Council's present structure and composition. We would like to caution against the real danger of adopting half-baked solutions, where the legitimate demands of some are short-changed in a bid to arrive at any form of agreement. Therefore, we do not favour procedural tactics essentially aimed at blocking any serious attempt at comprehensive reform of the Security Council. As recently reaffirmed at the Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa on 31 October 2005, Africa is demanding not less than two permanent seats, with all the existing prerogatives and privileges of such membership, as well as two additional non-permanent seats. Any Security Council reform package that seeks to exclude any of the elements of the principles of democracy, sovereign equality of States and equitable geographical representation would not be tenable. In conclusion, my delegation would like to stress that the United Nations has been hard-pressed in recent times to reassert its indisputable relevance in the present global context. These have indeed been very challenging times for our Organization. However, by the same token, the United Nations has been presented with unprecedented opportunities to make relevant changes to enable it to play the role envisaged for it by the founding fathers and by humankind. Improvement in the working methods of the Security Council and necessary changes in its structure and composition remain central components of the strenuous efforts being made to reform the United Nations as a whole. The process of Security Council reform has been long and arduous, spanning some 12-plus years. This cannot continue ad infinitum. The challenge is to heed the call of our leaders at the 2005 world summit to take a decision on this matter by the end of the year. Mr. Beck (Palau): On behalf of the Government and the people of Palau, I wish to express our deepest condolences to the Government and the people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the tragic loss of lives in the terrorist attacks in Amman. We wish to thank Ambassador Denisov of the Russian Federation for his presentation of the report of the Security Council (A/60/2). 10 A/60/PV.49 When our leaders met for the momentous summit in September, they agreed that early reform of the Security Council was an essential element of our overall effort to reform the United Nations in order to make it more broadly representative, efficient and transparent. Palau's views on the best means to accomplish those objectives were expressed during the General Assembly fifty-ninth session, when we cosponsored draft resolution A/59/L.64, which came to be known as the G-4 draft resolution. We believed then, and believe now, that it expressed an appropriate way forward on Security Council reform. It is Palau's belief that more equitable geographical representation in the Security Council on a permanent basis is simply better, and not worse. The geographical distribution that concerns Palau the most pertains to the Pacific, which we submit is underrepresented in the organs, tribunals and bodies of the United Nations and which is often marginalized by the remoteness and isolation of its small island States. As a Pacific State, Palau wishes acknowledges Japan's position as a regional partner with extensive knowledge of the unique cultures and vulnerabilities of its small neighbours in the Pacific. Japan has demonstrated the determination not only to understand but to help, when help is required, in those island nations. Japan's knowledge of the region should become a permanent part of the collective wisdom of the Security Council. The expansion of the Council to include other deserving countries referred to in the G-4 draft resolution will, in similar fashion, enable the Security Council to deal more effectively with a very changed world. We wish for momentum on that issue. Palau notes with approval and admiration the excellent work of the delegations of Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland. We fully endorse their notion that the working methods of the Security Council should be consistently adapted so as to increase the involvement of States that are not members of the Council. Now that Palau has deployed peacekeepers for the first time in its short history, that connectivity becomes all the more relevant. We submit that one inevitable result of the expansion of the Council along the lines proposed by the G-4 draft resolution would be a greater opportunity for enhanced involvement and understanding of the Security Council's work, particularly in currently underrepresented regions like the Pacific. Mr. Rock (Canada): Canada is grateful for this opportunity to offer its views on the report of the Security Council, as well as to return to the important subject of Security Council reform. I have had the opportunity in the recent past to place on record Canada's strong support for the enlargement of the Security Council. While we oppose adding permanent members, for reasons that I set forth in some detail from this podium, Canada believes that the Council's legitimacy would be enhanced by increasing its membership to include a broader representation of the world's regions. It is especially important that we redress the absence of adequate African representation. We support enlargement to produce a representative Council, but enlargement achieved in a way that is compatible with the principles of democracy, fairness, flexibility and accountability. However, the legitimacy of the Council depends not only upon the breadth of its composition; it derives as well from its effectiveness and the way it carries out its functions. Canada believes that the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Council could be greatly enhanced if the Council made certain changes in the approach to its work. We believe that there are three areas in particular where change is desirable. First, the Council's working methods should be improved to increase transparency and evidence-based decision-making, as well as to limit the use of the veto. Secondly, the Council's normative framework should be updated, so that it is better equipped to meet the demands of an evolving security environment and the changes in the nature of contemporary armed conflicts. Thirdly, the Council should manage its agenda in such a way that it gives prompt attention to those conflicts that involve grave humanitarian needs or risks to regional peace and security. Let me first deal with working methods. There is no doubt that, in recent years, the Council's procedures have evolved to become more open than they were. Those changes have been most welcome. But Canada believes that the time has come to go further. The first step should be to increase transparency. In an age when the Council's work, as demonstrated in the report itself, has such far-reaching and fast-growing implications for us all in expanding areas such as counter-terrorism and non-proliferation, 11 A/60/PV.49 surely outreach and consultation with Member States is more important than ever. We urge the Council to make more frequent and systematic use of informal exchanges, and to increase the regularity of substantive briefings for Member States. Where States face challenges in their capacity to meet Council obligations, such as in the area of counter-terrorism, we encourage the provision of greater assistance. Furthermore, there is a need for better information to assist the Council in making its important decisions. My delegation strongly supports efforts to provide better aggregate dates to the Council -- for example, on trends in global conflict, about which there is much recent and important learning -- in order to permit more evidence-based decision-making by the Council, where the stakes are so high. Let me briefly deal with the matter of the veto. We all know the inhibiting effect that the veto, or even the threat of its use, can have on Council deliberations. Indeed, there have been several regrettable occasions during the past year when the spectre of the veto had the effect of dampening debate or delaying important decisions. In our view, the veto can rarely be justified. It was originally intended to protect direct and vital great-Power interests, not as a tool for disciplining the rest of the membership on the Council or aborting debate on certain issues. For that reason, Canada believes that any use of the veto should be explained and publicly justified. We also strongly support proposals for voluntary restrictions on its use, in particularly in situations of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Canada believes that those and other changes to the Council's working methods could very much enhance its legitimacy and effectiveness. We encourage the Council to consider adopting such measures in the months ahead. In the meantime, let me restate my Government's strong support for the General Assembly draft resolution on the Council's working methods, which has been circulated by Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland. We believe that the draft resolution merits serious consideration by members of the Assembly and the Security Council alike. We encourage the drafters to initiate broad-based consultations as soon as possible. The second area where Canada believes there should be early consideration within the Council Chamber of change is the normative framework within which the Council makes decisions on individual conflicts. In keeping with the endorsement by our leaders of the responsibility to protect, we believe that it would be timely and useful for the Council to echo those principles, so that when such crises arise we do not revisit lengthy and sterile debates about sovereignty at the risk of losing civilian lives. We are, of course, respectful of the sincere concerns that have been raised regarding the potential for the principle of the responsibility to protect to be misused or abused. While we believe that the leaders' language renders that risk remote, there is scope for a Council resolution that could provide additional reassurance by outlining guidelines on the use of force. The Secretary-General has proposed a pragmatic and balanced set of principles for addressing the use of force. We urge members of the Security Council to adopt a resolution that sets out those principles and expresses its intention to treat them as a guide in its future decision-making. That would not only reassure those who remain anxious about the scope of the responsibility to protect, but would also serve to strengthen the Council's legitimacy, effectiveness and transparency. We do not believe that, as some suggest, such a step would hamstring the Council by imposing rigid guidelines. Finally, it goes without saying that the Council cannot be effective if it does not consider the full range of "live" crises. In this regard, as a compelling example of a place where the Council's attention is badly needed, we draw its attention once again to the 20-year-old conflict in northern Uganda, which we believe should be placed formally on the Council's agenda. The humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda is one of the world's worst, with 1.6 million people internally displaced and living, some for 10 years, in squalid, insecure camps, with acts of brutality -- killing and maiming -- committed against the local populations, and with tens of thousands of children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army to serve as child soldiers or as sex slaves. What is more, the presence of the Lord's Resistance Army in the Sudan and, more recently, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, illustrates the potential for that conflict to destabilize and impede peaceful transitions in the entire region. The recent increase in acts of violence against humanitarian aid 12 A/60/PV.49 workers in northern Uganda and neighbouring southern Sudan puts at risk much-needed humanitarian operations in the region and further highlights the need for all parties to engage further on this issue. We urge the Council to place the issue of northern Uganda on its agenda, to help find ways of ensuring that Uganda meets its own responsibility to protect its own populations, to consider how the international community might support efforts to reach a political solution to that devastating conflict and others like it and, above all, to improve the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. In conclusion, as we move forward with summit implementation, Canada agrees that we cannot afford to forget about Council reform in relation to both enlargement and effectiveness. At the same time, Council reform is but one element of the much broader agenda of renewal upon which we are now embarked. We spent significant time and energy on the composition issue in the months leading up to the summit, and we were right to do so. At this time, surely our collective priority has to be the implementation of the full range of decisions taken by our leaders in September: to establish a Peacebuilding Commission and a Human Rights Council, to initiate and follow through on management reform and to advance implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, to name but a few. (spoke in French) Notwithstanding the daunting nature of that work plan, we believe that early action with regard to the Council's working methods, norms and agenda could yield concrete success in the near term. Such action would not only be desirable in itself but would also be a means of building new momentum in our efforts to resolve the composition question. In all of principles of effectiveness. colleagues on ahead. those areas we must be guided by the representativeness, transparency and I look forward to working with these important issues in the months Throughout the ongoing United Nations reform process, Chile has reiterated its view that efforts to achieve comprehensive reform must be faithful to the principles and values of the Charter, enhance the credibility and legitimacy of the Organization and bring it up to date. They must be based on the understanding that development, international security, democracy and human rights are indissociable and interdependent concepts. From that perspective, we have actively advocated the reform of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Human Rights and the Secretariat, as well as providing support for the necessary consensus for the establishment of the Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. The promotion of development, as well as the concepts of the responsibility to protect and human security, are also key elements for my country. Once again, we reaffirm that Chile seeks the renewal of the Security Council so as to make it more representative, transparent and effective. An increase in its membership, especially through the participation of more countries from the developing world, would help to achieve that objective. But that should be undertaken in parallel with the improvement of the Council's working methods. We reaffirm the recommendation contained in paragraph 154 of the recent summit outcome document (resolution 60/1) that "the Security Council continue to adapt its working methods so as to increase the involvement of States not members of the Council in its work, as appropriate, enhance its accountability to the membership and increase the transparency of its work". In this context, we note with interest the initiatives that have rightly been put forward to improve the Council's working methods. At the bilateral level, Chile supports Brazil, Germany, India and Japan in their aspiration to permanent Council membership, while maintaining our long-standing position opposing the veto. Let us be very clear: Chile supports the inclusion of new permanent members, but without the right of veto, either now or later. Our consistent opposition to the veto is not recent: it was stated for the first time at the Mr. Muñoz (Chile) (spoke in Spanish): I would like to express my appreciation for the report of the Security Council (A/60/2), introduced by the representative of the Russian Federation, on its activities during the period 1 August 2004 to 31 July 2005, the contents of which we have taken due note. 13 A/60/PV.49 San Francisco Conference in 1945. We recognize that the complete elimination of the right of veto is perhaps a bit unrealistic or unlikely, but we do not reject giving serious consideration to interim formulas, such as, for example, restricting its exercise only to matters under Chapter VII, excluding cases of genocide or crimes against humanity. We also wish to state for the record that the position of Latin America and the Caribbean with regard to the enlargement of the Security Council should not disparaged in favour of that of other regions, particularly given the quantitative and qualitative contributions that have been referred to by the Secretary-General since the beginning. By virtue of the mandate contained in paragraph 153 of the Summit Outcome of the 2005 High-level Plenary Meeting, Chile is prepared, at this stage in the reform, to contribute to the building of the consensus required for comprehensive and successful reform of the Organization, and specifically that of the Security Council, whose reform cannot continue to be delayed. Chile favours an effort aimed at achieving compromise and agreement, which has been our longstanding policy with respect to issues that divide us. We have been doing so in the Assembly and in the group of friends of the reform. The President can therefore count on our cooperation and support on this issue that we consider to be crucial. Mr. Kazykhanov (Kazakhstan): On behalf of the Government of Kazakhstan, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the Government and people of Jordan for the tragic loss of life that resulted from the heinous terrorist attacks in Amman on 9 November. At the outset, let me thank the Security Council and the Secretariat for the comprehensive report on the work of the Security Council during the past year, and in particular Ambassador Andrey Denisov, the current President of the Council, for his clear and informative introduction of the report. The document before us covers a busy, and in many ways difficult, period. A number of crises that have been on the Security Council's agenda for a long time have continued to require its attention. The Security Council, as the United Nations body entrusted with primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security, plays a key role in current affairs affecting the international community as a whole. Although more needs to be done, we are happy to acknowledge that progress has been made in recent years towards improving the working methods of the Security Council. My delegation welcomes the emerging practice of sending Security Council missions to the field and is particularly pleased with the Council's continuing efforts to address ongoing conflicts. We have taken note of -- and welcome -- the fact that the Security Council has shifted its debate from issues of peace and security to a much boarder concept of security, while attaching importance to the rule of law, the role of regional organizations, civil society, economic and social factors and HIV/AIDS. Although the report of the Council opens with an analytical segment, we had expected more substantive information rather than a historical recounting of the events as they happened in the Council during the year. In our opinion, the report should not be confined to what the Council has achieved, but, more importantly, it should also address what has worked and why it has worked. The report needs to be a document more useful to Member States. Non-members of the Security Council have the right to be well briefed about the work of the Council, and their views should be reflected in the report during the drafting exercise. Openness and effectiveness should be interrelated objectives of the Security Council. The Council must do more towards increasing the participation of nonmembers of the Council in its deliberations. In that context, we would like to emphasize the importance of giving the wider membership an opportunity to express their views on issues before the Council, with the expectation that the Council will take those views into account before it takes its decisions. We also believe that a satisfactory relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council should be fundamental. Dialogue between those two principal organs should not be merely ritualistic. My delegation commends the practice of holding informal briefings on the work of the Security Council for regional groups by members of the Council. Such briefings could assist the Council in producing more balanced and impartial decisions. Reform of the Security Council is necessary, and a decision on that subject is a serious and important 14 A/60/PV.49 measure. Kazakhstan has repeatedly voiced its continued support for an expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and the non-permanent categories of membership. Kazakhstan believes that, in its current form, the Council no longer reflects the realities of our world. We believe that the equitable representation of Member States in the Council could strengthen its ability to effectively face the challenges of the twenty-first century and play its role in the settlement of crisis situations. Such a sensitive issue as the reform of the Security Council should be resolved on the basis of broad international agreement, in accordance with the principle of equitable geographical representation and with due consideration of the contribution of States concerned towards the development of the global economy and regional and global security. We also believe that reform must also deal with the Council's working methods, which must be improved in order to enhance its transparency and accountability. We therefore support the initiatives aimed at improving the Council's working methods. In conclusion, I would like to express the appreciation of my Government to the members of the Council for their contributions, as well as to congratulate the five newly elected members. We pledge our cooperation and full support. We look forward to working closely with the Security Council and to participating actively in all its efforts to meet the global need for peace. Mr. Sardenberg (Brazil): At the outset, on behalf of Brazil, I wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the people and to the Government of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, who were victimized by the recent dastardly and abhorrent act of terrorism. We must continue to combat that scourge through all means. I would like to thank the President of the Assembly for convening this meeting. Its timeliness is due not only to the importance of the issues themselves, but also to the need for the General Assembly to comply with the relevant provisions of the Outcome of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly as regards the question of the expansion of the Security Council. We are confident that, under the President's determined guidance, the long-standing issue of Security Council reform will be resolved, along with the other important issues relating to the institutional reform of the Organization. I am pleased to join previous speakers in thanking Ambassador Andrey Denisov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation and President of the Security Council for this month, for presenting the Council's report to the General Assembly. I also wish to congratulate Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece and his team for their important work in facilitating the preparation of the document. On behalf of our delegation, I also convey our deep appreciation and gratitude to the Security Council secretariat for their support throughout the period since January 2004, during which time Brazil has been a non-permanent member of the Council. The report of the Security Council is an item of singular importance on the agenda of the current session of the General Assembly. As a long-standing advocate of greater accountability by the Council, Brazil more than welcomes this debate, which, to our regret, takes place only once each session. We are of the view that the notion of special reports -- as set out in Article 15, paragraph 1, of the Charter, as well as in Article 24, paragraph 3 -- should be heeded, especially at this stage when important reforms are under discussion at the United Nations. Bearing this need in mind, on the occasion of its Security Council presidency last March, the Brazilian delegation, with the support of other members, reinstated the format of Security Council monthly "wrap-up" sessions. Our intention was to enable the broader membership to comment on and assess the work of the Council during that month, when a number of issues related to Africa were under review. We encourage other members to continue to promote this sort of inclusive dialogue. The work undertaken by the Council between August 2004 and July 2005 reinforces the perception that it faces a transitional moment requiring its adaptation to new international circumstances. Growing complexity in the Council's daily work stems from the fact that current challenges exceed by far the classic pattern of inter-State conflict; to a greater extent, we are confronted with situations of domestic struggle, on the one hand, and of ever more disquieting transnational threats, on the other. The need to respond to these challenges in effective and innovative ways must be addressed in tandem with the absolute 15 A/60/PV.49 imperative of safeguarding the framework provided by the Charter of the United Nations. Sixty years after the creation of the United Nations, its purposes and principles are more valid than ever. Respect for the principles of sovereign equality, political independence and self-determination of peoples is essential for the achievement of peace and harmony in international life. The Council has special responsibilities in this regard and is expected to make judicious use of the powers at its disposal. The report reflects the variety of issues that nowadays call for the involvement of the Council, such as national reconciliation, conflict prevention, activities to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate excombatants, post-conflict peacebuilding, promotion of justice and the rule of law, economic reconstruction, measures aimed at combating terrorism, and the threat posed by non-State actors having access to weapons of mass destruction, among many other issues. In the Council's consideration of these measures, the Brazilian delegation ascribes priority to full consideration, on a case-by-case basis, of all elements relating to every particular situation on the ground, especially including the root causes of conflict, most of them being of a social or economic dimension. It is our view that peoples' frustration and humiliation set the stage for violence, crises and conflicts of all sorts, and that specific, precise responses can be identified to tackle these challenges in a sustainable manner. For instance, we believe Haiti constitutes a test case for the United Nations, as it illustrates the types of problems that the United Nations is likely to face in the years ahead. These include problems deeply rooted in socio-economic shortfalls for which solutions need to be achieved by means other than military action. They require making progress, in parallel, in the fields of security, institution-building, political reconciliation, promotion of social and economic development and, certainly, the observance of human rights. Last March, I had the privilege and the honour of leading the Security Council mission to that country, in conjunction with the mission of the Economic and Social Council's Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti. I am pleased that today the Council is convinced that pervasive poverty is truly a main root cause of unrest in Haiti. In the case of Guinea-Bissau, there is an ongoing need for promoting peace, stability and reconciliation and for continued international support. The Council will now have to consider adequate solutions as regards the future United Nations presence in that country. We fully support the ideas proposed by the Secretary-General with a view to adopting a mandate for the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau that merges the peace and security and sustainable development agendas. As regards the situation in Timor-Leste, that country is now calm and stable -- I should say to our great satisfaction. The structure and capabilities of its national institutions are being strengthened with a major contribution by the United Nations and other international support. The three cases I have just highlighted are clear examples of the multidisciplinary approach that is required nowadays. Besides financial and material contributions, Brazil has assisted with a number of proposals and ideas in the context of the Security Council's decision-making process. We will continue to offer our support and advice. As a Member State that has consistently called for greater, more frequent and fluid interaction between the Council and other United Nations main organs, we assessed with particular satisfaction the establishment of a Peacebuilding Commission. We look forward to the next report of the Council, to be submitted at the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, which we hope will testify to the Peacebuilding Commission, the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council itself working hand in hand to ensure conditions not only for transition from war to peace, but also from peace to stability and sustainable development. The issue of Security Council reform has been on the agenda of the General Assembly for a very long time. There is now a clear, generalized perception that the structure of the Council fails to reflect current international realities. The urgency of the matter is shown not only by the rather obvious fact that the world of 2005 is not that of 1945, but also by the trend towards greater exercise of the Council's authority and influence in many areas, with direct domestic consequences for all countries of the world. Most, if not all, nations now realize the implications of this trend. The Council and the decisions it takes need to become more legitimate and more effective; therefore balanced representation in the Council is essential. That can be accomplished only by expanding the 16 A/60/PV.49 permanent and non-permanent categories, with the inclusion of developing countries in both categories. At the last session of the General Assembly, and after a long, inclusive process of consultations involving the entire membership, I introduced, on behalf of 32 sponsors, including Brazil's G-4 partners -- Germany, India and Japan -- the first draft resolution presented to the Assembly containing a proposed framework for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council. Another important group of countries, the African Union, put forward a proposal containing very similar ideas on the basic need to expand the permanent and non-permanent categories of Council membership. Those proposals, which address the heart of the issue, constitute a significant development. They not only demonstrate a willingness and a determination to come to grips with the question of expansion but also demonstrate that the question can no longer be put off. Even the handful of countries bent on stalling the process felt compelled to present a proposal, although it was incompatible with the call for consensus that they so vocally maintain. Although we would have preferred to resolve the issue before the September summit, as recommended by the Secretary-General, it would plainly be wrong to mistake the lack of a decision for a lack of progress. There is now a nearly unanimous perception among Member States that there is a pressing need for change, and a clear majority share coinciding views on the composition of a reformed Council. It is no exaggeration to say that we have never come as close to settling this protracted issue as we are right now. Important recent developments can help move the process forward. The decision taken at the latest African Union summit, held in Sirte on 31 October, to resubmit the African proposal for Security Council reform to the General Assembly is the most recent among them. Brazil stands ready to support proposals that have fundamental elements in common with that put forward by the group of four and other countries. We are convinced that reform on the basis of the African Union proposal would considerably improve on the current structure of the Council and would reduce the imbalance of its composition. We stand ready to work with African partners to bring about reform that corrects the historical imbalance in the Council's composition, which today excludes entire regions of the developing world from the category of permanent members. Another important development is the circulation by Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland of a proposal on the working methods of the Security Council. Brazil attaches the utmost importance to the issue of the practices of the Council. Our current two-year mandate on the Council has only reinforced our perception that there is an urgent need for the Council to adopt a definitive set of rules of procedure and to observe them more faithfully. It is precisely because we attach such importance to the issue of working methods that a considerable portion of our own draft proposal was devoted to that question. It is very clear that only through a comprehensive approach that deals with the issues of the Council's working methods and its composition will we, the Members of the United Nations, be able to succeed in bringing the Council more into harmony with its mandate and with the views and the needs of all Member States. Progress achieved so far in the negotiations on the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council demonstrates the falseness of claims that the present consideration of the issue of Security Council reform somehow precludes forward movement on other important fronts of the institutional reform of the Organization. As a matter of fact, one now faces the previously unimaginable possibility that those two proposals for institutional reform, on the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council, could prosper without any corresponding developments on the composition and the working methods of the Security Council. That would be very detrimental to the Organization's balance and harmony and should therefore be avoided. We must ensure that progress is achieved in parallel on all aspects of institutional reform. A few countries, seeking to avoid any decision on the matter, have taken refuge in appeals for consensus and in claims that the issue is "disruptive". However, their actions only contribute to the perpetuation of current inequalities in the structure of the Organization and to the frustration of the aspiration of all Members, in particular developing countries, to a more balanced distribution of power in the Security Council. 17 A/60/PV.49 Others claim that what is a reasonable expansion of the Council would make it "unworkable" and would sacrifice the Council's efficiency and effectiveness. They fail to take into consideration that both efficiency and effectiveness are directly related to the perception of the legitimacy of the decisions that the Council takes, and that that, in turn, is a function of a representative composition. It is time for the General Assembly to reach a decision on the issue of Security Council expansion. After 12 years of discussion and after months of consideration of concrete proposals, there can be no denying that the issue is well known to all and ripe for decision. With respect to the fact that such a decision will most probably be taken by a vote, it should be pointed out that this stems from the importance of the issue. That proven democratic method of coming to a decision should frighten no one. Ms. Lintonen (Finland): At the outset, I would like to convey my delegation's deep condolences to the families of the victims of the bomb attacks that occurred yesterday in Jordan. We condemn in the strongest terms those heinous acts of terrorism targeting innocent civilians. Let me thank the President of the Security Council for this month, Ambassador Denisov of the Russian Federation, for introducing the annual report of the Security Council (A/60/2). I would also like to commend the Secretariat for its efforts in producing the report. We must seize this opportunity to further the goals of reform that were set for us in the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1). The momentum for institutional reform must not be lost. While stressing the importance of the revitalization of the General Assembly and the need to restore the political stature of the General Assembly and strengthen the role of the Economic and Social Council, Finland strongly supports the reform and the enlargement of the Security Council. In our view, any reform of the Council must aim at increasing both its legitimacy and its effectiveness. To be truly effective in carrying out its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the Council has to be seen as more legitimate by the wider membership of the Organization. At the same time, a more representative and thus more legitimate Council will, in the long run, be more effective in carrying out its functions. Finland therefore supports an enlargement of the Council in both the permanent and the non-permanent categories. However, for the Council to be both effective and legitimate, the veto right should not, under any circumstances, be extended to new permanent members. Finland also strongly supports reform of the Council's working methods in order to make the Council more transparent, inclusive and accountable. To conclude, I would like to reaffirm our support for the aspiration of Germany and Japan to become permanent members of an enlarged Security Council, and for making the Council more representative by including representatives of developing countries from the southern hemisphere. Mr. Reyes Rodríguez (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): Like preceding speakers, I would like to express Cuba's solidarity with those who today expressed their condolences for the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Jordan. Cuba joins with those who have expressed solidarity with the people, the authorities and the families of the victims. We thank the Permanent Representative of Russia, Ambassador Andrey Denisov, for his presentation of the annual report of the Security Council (A/60/2), as well as the other members of the Council and Secretariat staff for their efforts in preparing this voluminous document, submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. The report includes, once again, a brief summary, which is a positive adjustment to the format adopted in recent years. However, we believe that the report, precisely because it is such an important part of the Council's institutional memory, should be subject to ongoing, more thorough improvement in order to make it a document of greater analytical content. Why not, for example, include the political and legal bases of at least the most important resolutions adopted by the Council? And why not include in the report what was not accomplished and the reasons for that, particularly for cases on which the Council was unable to act or clearly lacked unity? The report should provide a greater analysis of divided votes, especially for cases in which a permanent member cast a negative 18 A/60/PV.49 vote. For example, in the period under consideration, the United States vetoed a draft resolution on the question of Palestine. Until changes can be made to the Council's current working methods, the annual report should include detailed information on the discussions held in closed meetings. In our opinion, it is necessary and urgent to make changes of that nature to the annual report. Meanwhile, the General Assembly has yet to receive the special reports mentioned in Articles 15 and 24 of the Charter. If such special reports were submitted, all Member States would be able to review with the necessary frequency and thoroughness information relevant to the work of the Council, the principal organ, of limited membership, to which we have entrusted the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and which, in accordance with the Charter, acts in our name. Therefore, it is vital to fully implement those General Assembly resolutions -- for example, resolutions 51/193, 58/126 and 59/313 -- that contain provisions to facilitate the Security Council's proper accounting of its activities to the Assembly, which the Member States have the legitimate right to receive. There cannot be a genuine reform of the United Nations without a comprehensive reform of the Security Council, an organ where the principle of the sovereign equality of States is institutionally and flagrantly violated on a daily basis. It will not be possible to restore the rule of international law or make the Organization truly democratic as long as the Council exercises totalitarian powers. Nor will the Council recover its credibility and the legitimacy of its decisions as long as the super-Power continues to impose its will by the force of arms and the use of its money for blackmail. We have often reaffirmed that the veto should be eliminated. But even after achieving the elimination of that unjust privilege, nothing will change if the reform leaves untouched the unacceptable, aggressive conduct and the hegemonic ambition of the world's most powerful country in terms of military and economic power, or fails to address the logic of domination and pillage that governs the essential processes of the international economic and financial system, disarmament and the precarious, temporary equilibrium of international security schemes. That set of factors prevents the majority of Council members from exercising their will and inhibits the General Assembly in its exercise of the considerable powers assigned to it by the Charter so that it can tackle the important challenges arising from the world's political, military and financial situation. Therefore, until the ultimate objective of eliminating the veto can be achieved, it is necessary, as a first step in that direction, to limit the veto's use to actions taken under Chapter VII of the Charter. The Security Council should be expanded to include new permanent and non-permanent members. The new permanent and non-permanent members joining the Council as part of this expansion should receive the same prerogatives as current permanent members. The basic objective of this expansion should be to correct the underrepresentation of developing countries in the Council's membership. Cuba believes that two or three countries from Africa, two or three countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, and two or three developing countries from Asia should join the Council as permanent members, with the same powers as current members, including the veto. However, Council reform cannot be limited to the question of the increase of its membership. It must include proposals for achieving with urgency a deep transformation of its working methods in order to ensure the Council's democratic functioning and adequate transparency, including by taking the necessary steps to end the provisional nature of its rules of procedure. Although one notes occasional efforts to increase the number of open meetings of the Council, in our opinion those meetings still do not offer a real opportunity for the points of view of countries that are not members of the Council to be properly taken into account. The informal briefings, of varying quality and frequency, carried out by the presidency and the subsequent monthly reviews are the only mechanisms that timidly allow us to obtain some information concerning what takes place in the Council's private consultations. It is regrettable that the Council continues to carry out a great part of its work in closed meetings, particularly in informal consultations, which, when they are convened at the request of the most powerful of its members, cause peace-loving people throughout the world to lose sleep. That practice contravenes the 19 A/60/PV.49 Council's own rules and has emphatically been called unacceptable by most States. In that context, we thank those members of the Council that have made concrete efforts to give us timely information on what is taking place in that principal organ. Furthermore, the Council distorts the Charter's spirit and its provisions by means of its increasingly intrusive agenda, which usurps functions of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. We note with concern the attempt to confer legislative powers on the Security Council, something that is beyond its mandate and is in clear violation of the most fundamental principles of the law of treaties. While the Council oversteps its area of competence on some issues, on others, regrettably and alarmingly, it maintains a continuous state of paralysis, such as on the current situation of the occupied Palestinian territories. Before concluding, I would like to recall that during the fifty-ninth session of the Assembly, we saw that the issue of Security Council reform continues to be very sensitive. Today's joint debate and those of the preceding days provide another opportunity for a better understanding of the respective positions of Member States. We believe that the concerns, aspirations and specific proposals expressed here could be studied in greater depth to restart the work of the Assembly's Open-ended Working Group in order to finally make progress on the far-reaching, comprehensive and just reform of the Security Council. Mr. Sumaida'ie (Iraq) (spoke in Arabic): At the outset, I join preceding speakers in condemning the 9 November terrorist attacks in Amman, which killed and injured dozens of innocent civilians. On behalf of the Government and the people of Iraq, I express my condolences to the Government and the people of the brotherly country of Jordan and to the families of the victims. I express my appreciation to those who have condemned the terrorist attacks in Iraq and who have expressed their sympathy for the victims of daily terrorist acts. Terrorism has no homeland, nationality or religion. Terrorism can be defeated only by uniting our efforts in an international campaign to eliminate it. The Open-ended Working Group on Council reform concluded its work and recommended that the item continue to be considered at the current session of the General Assembly. I take this opportunity to express my delegation's appreciation for the efforts of the President of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session, Mr. Jean Ping, who so ably guided the activities of the Working Group. It is more than ever necessary to reform the Security Council through an increase in its membership, a review of the items on its agenda and an improvement of its working methods, because the geopolitical situation has changed dramatically since the United Nations was founded. We have to make sure that such reform can keep pace with the changes that have taken place. The question of Security Council reform has been on the agenda of the General Assembly since 1993. During that time, some progress has been made in the discussion of the various ideas and courses of action. However, the Assembly has not been able to take critical decisions to adopt those proposals, except for the resolution setting out the required majority needed to take a decision on Security Council reform and related matters. That failure can be attributed in part to the fact that all issues related to reform -- in particular cluster II issues, on which there is some general consensus -- have been linked to the issue of the increase in the Council's permanent and non-permanent membership. There continue to be profound differences on that particular issue, on which consultations reached a high point in the second half of this year, when we saw draft resolutions submitted to the General Assembly. While those draft resolutions touched on various cluster II issues, they focused mainly on an increase of the membership of the Council. We believe that further improvement of the Council's working methods will bring us closer to agreement on the increase of its membership. My delegation reaffirms the need for Member States to strive to find common ground on the issue of the expansion of the Council's membership. Delegations have put forward valuable opinions and views with the aim of making progress on general United Nations reform before moving on to the specific question of Security Council reform. The 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1) adopted by heads of State and Government in September gave impetus to that line of action, especially as the outcome document placed no special emphasis on Security Council reform. 20 A/60/PV.49 We now note that members of the United Nations are thoroughly preoccupied with the issue of establishing important structures that will contribute greatly to the reform of the Organization. In addition, the results and recommendations of the Independent Inquiry Committee of the "oil-for-food" programme have contributed to the reform of the Secretariat. It is necessary to improve transparency and accountability in the Secretariat and other organs in order to restore the credibility of the United Nations and to reassure Member States that they can entrust important funds to the United Nations and be confident that those funds will be spent responsibly and appropriately. Like other delegations that have spoken on the issue of Security Council reform, my delegation believes that it is important to increase the Council's membership in a way that makes it more representative, that better reflects the greatly increased membership of the Organization over the past 60 years and that does not undermine the Council's efficiency and effectiveness. At the same time, however, my delegation attaches special importance to the cluster II issues on the improvement of the Council's working methods, because those issues affect the interests of all Member States, whereas the increase of the Council's membership, especially in the category of permanent members, affects the interests of only a limited number of States. Since the fifty-seventh session, the Open-ended Working Group on Council reform has covered important ground in examining cluster II issues, on some of which there is agreement in principle. However, that agreement cannot be secured until it is incorporated into the Council's rules of procedure. There are some cluster II issues that we wish to underline, foremost among which is the issue of sanctions regimes. I can speak of sanctions regimes from personal experience, because my country suffered the side effects of sanctions for 13 years and continues to suffer the consequences of those sanctions. We fully agree with the report of the Working-Group, which states that "sanctions should be designed in such a manner so that their long-term effects are considered and their effects on civilian populations are minimized or avoided on the basis of an assessment of humanitarian impact" (A/59/47, Annex II, para. 16). My delegation wishes to underline that the purpose of sanctions, as set out in the Charter of the United Nations, is to rectify wrong action and modify the behaviour of regimes that the Security Council has found not to be in compliance with its resolutions. Sanctions are not to be used to undermine States or destroy their social fabric. Sanctions are to be an individual form of punishment that targets persons and regimes, and not a form of collective punishment that targets an entire population or country. We therefore believe that it is important to use the points agreed upon in that regard in the 2005 World Summit Outcome document to guide the Security Council's work in improving sanctions regimes. With respect to the veto, we agree with those that prefer to add this issue to cluster II. We hope to see the use of the veto restricted as greatly as possible, first by limiting its use to issues that fall under Chapter VII of the Charter and, secondly, by adopting measures to place controls on its use. We believe that the proposal contained in paragraph 257 of the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change (A/59/565) for the introduction of a procedure of "indicative voting" in the Security Council would contribute to a greater elucidation of the reasons behind "no" votes and thus limit the use of the veto. Another issue is that of the threat to international peace and security posed by terrorism -- and the means to combat it. Since terrorism is a social phenomenon, it must be confronted with international participation. We therefore stress the importance of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Security Council Committee on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and resolution 1540 (2004) respectively. States have a responsibility to fully cooperate with those two Committees. We believe it is necessary for these issues to receive the attention and sponsorship they deserve, first, because they account for a major portion of the Security Council agenda and, secondly, because improving the Committees' monitoring and implementation machinery and the subsequent implementation by countries of their obligations under the two resolutions would enhance the means of combating terrorism. In that regard, strengthening communication and cooperation between regional organizations and the two Committees and enhancing related programmes 21 A/60/PV.49 and mechanisms would further strengthen the effectiveness of international counter-terrorism efforts. That leads us to the role of regional organizations in maintaining international peace and security. We believe it is important and pragmatic to ensure that regional organizations play their vital role in the resolution of regional conflicts and in peacebuilding. That means implementation of Chapter VIII of the Charter, while ensuring that there is no infringement upon the Security Council's obligations under the Charter. In addition, it would strengthen respect for and protection of human rights. I wish in conclusion to note that the recent years have seen an increase in the number of Security Council meetings open to non-members. There has also been an increase in the participation of non-members in the Council's deliberations, when those deliberations pertain to the interests of those States. While we welcome such developments, we look forward to consolidating the practice in a manner that activates Article 31 of the Charter and that has a positive impact on openness and transparency in the work of the Council. Mr. Skinner-Klée (Guatemala) (spoke in Spanish): I wish to begin by conveying our heartfelt condolences to the people and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the dreadful terrorist attacks that took place on 9 November in Amman, which have taken a heavy toll in innocent lives. We wish to thank Ambassador Andrey Denisov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, for introducing, in his capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of November, the Council's annual report (A/60/2). Even though the link between the two items on which we are today holding a joint debate is obvious, we remain of the view that the report of the Security Council is sufficiently important to warrant separate consideration, particularly at a time when we are trying to find new ways to improve the principal organs of the Organization. In that connection, it is interesting to highlight a curious point, namely the fact that the report of the Security Council is mentioned expressly in two distinct and separate provisions of the United Nations Charter: Article 15, paragraph 1, and Article 24, paragraph 3. These provisions are contained, respectively, in Chapters IV and V of the Charter, which are entirely devoted respectively to the General Assembly and to the Security Council. It is also of interest to point out that, as far as substance is concerned, the former provision refers explicitly to the functions that the Security Council performs within the framework of Chapter VII, to maintain international peace and security. From those characteristics of the Charter we infer the importance that its authors attached to the report of the Council: that it should reflect the developments that have taken place within the Council, which in turn should be the object of analysis and consideration by the General Assembly. That should come as no surprise considering that the report is the only formal link between the General Assembly and the Security Council and that those two principal organs of the United Nations exercise functions and powers in the area of the maintenance of international peace and security. We should also be aware of the importance of that link as a means of ensuring the indispensable coordination and complementarity between the two organs' activities in that field, which, as the International Court of Justice has correctly observed, constitutes the most important of the purposes of the United Nations. The Security Council's annual report to the General Assembly must therefore be more than a merely symbolic or ritualistic act. It should not just be a formal, procedural act but a matter of substance. In other words, it is not enough for the report barely to meet the minimum requirements to qualify as one, when in reality it is a mere outline, without even a detailed account of the votes that have taken place. The report should be the principal nexus between the two organs. And, above all, given the close relationship between the maintenance of peace and all the other functions of the United Nations, the report should be a tool enabling the General Assembly to fulfil its role as the principal deliberative and policy organ of the United Nations. Guatemala appreciates the efforts that have been made to significantly improve, and even to slightly alter, the key characteristics of the introduction to the report. The report nevertheless continues to be predominantly a descriptive, routine collection of documents with its emphasis on a chronological 22 A/60/PV.49 account of what the Council has done and what, as a matter of public record, has occurred within it. Regrettably, the report lacks an evaluation of the difficulties, advances, setbacks and obstacles that have arisen in the Council's endeavours to resolve the conflicts that threaten international peace and security. Therefore, the report of the Council should become more substantial in order to promote a debate on how the future work of that organ can be improved. Although the item on our agenda is the consideration of the report of the Security Council, we should not pass over in silence or refrain from stressing the fact that the report must cease to be nothing more than a bare record, a mere yearbook, and should become an annotated agenda on the Council's deliberations, reflecting the various positions taken and matters that have prompted debate. In its present form, the report of the Council does not help us understand the nature of the situations that disrupt international peace and security. The lack of an analytical rather than chronological report means that questions affecting all of humanity are understood by less than one tenth of the membership of the United Nations. In an interdependent and globalized world, that is an anachronism that does not serve the purposes of the Organization. It is a practice that we must review in order to adopt methods of work that impart greater transparency to the deliberations of the Security Council, which will not only make the maintenance of international peace and security more viable but also advance the promotion of friendly relations between nations and strengthen the international cooperation that is required for resolving the problems that plague humanity. To be sure, in one area that is of particular importance to my delegation -- the transparency of the Council's working methods and achieving closer interchange with States not represented on it -- the Council has made significant progress. But there is room for more progress. In particular, we must extend, as much as possible, the practice of holding public meetings of the Council, with the greatest possible number of interested parties in attendance. Guatemala is firmly committed to the process of United Nations reform, as laid down in the Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2) and the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1). The question of reforming the United Nations system has given rise to the most heated debates during the past few months of the work of the Assembly. We trust that significant advances will be possible in realizing this necessary and urgent reform, advances that will take into account all the institutions and mechanisms of the Organization, wherever improved and more efficient functioning is needed. Guatemala is ready to contribute to the process with ideas and by taking part in a constructive dialogue with all Member States. We are grateful for initiatives such as that of the representatives of Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland in connection with a draft resolution on improving the working methods of the Council. Guatemala appreciates their proposal. We feel that such contributions will unquestionably enrich the dialogue among Member States and will activate the process of implementing the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1). Before briefly touching upon some of the principles that inform my delegation's views on the subject of Security Council reform, I wish to convey my gratitude to the former President of the General Assembly, Mr. Jean Ping, for his leadership in the work of the Open-ended Working Group, as well as to the Vice-Chairpersons of that body, the representative of the Bahamas, Ms. Paulette Bethel, and the representative of Liechtenstein, Mr. Christian Wenaweser. The Working Group's report has provided very interesting information, analysis and reflection on the issue that concerns us today. For Guatemala, Security Council reform is a crucial element, but one that is inevitably linked to the wider process of United Nations reform. An effective collective security system necessarily requires the comprehensive strengthening of multilateralism and the United Nations. This is why, in our view, Security Council reform should not concentrate solely on increasing the number of members; it should also include a comprehensive review of the Council's working methods and the decision-making process. I wish to reiterate my country's conviction that the Council needs to be more representative, transparent and efficient. That is why we advocate an increase in its membership. We agree that such an increase should apply to both categories of membership -- permanent and non-permanent -- taking special care to ensure adequate geographical 23 A/60/PV.49 representation and the inclusion of both developed and developing countries. Guatemala favours continuing efforts to make the Council more open and accessible, in the interest of greater transparency, so as to demonstrate that, as the Charter specifies, the Council is truly acting "on ... behalf" of Member States and, accordingly, in the interest of the international community -- and enjoying at all times the valuable contributions of interested States. We support better coordination among the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council so as to guarantee continuity in the Organization's peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities, always preserving the responsibilities and powers specific to each United Nations organ, in conformity with the Charter. We would also like to see an analysis of relations with the other principal organs of the United Nations. Here, we consider that reference should have been made to the experience gained from the Economic and Social Council's ad hoc advisory groups -- on African countries emerging from conflict, such as GuineaBissau and Burundi, and on Haiti. Through their own mechanisms, these have improved coordination between the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. We believe that this has helped promote a holistic focus responding to both security issues and economic issues in the transition and recovery phases. Finally, Guatemala reaffirms its commitment to participate actively in the future discussions on Security Council reform. That goes hand in hand with our aspiration to be elected next year by the Assembly, for the first time, to a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, which will enable us to continue to contribute to the process of reforming the working methods of the Council. Mr. Lidén (Sweden): First of all, I wish to express my sincere condolences to the delegation of Jordan and to the families and friends of all of the victims of the terrorist attacks that took place in Amman. The Swedish Government condemns, in the strongest possible terms, those who planned and carried out that horrible crime. Two months ago, we took important steps to reform the United Nations. Once implemented, those decisions will strengthen our ability to cope with current global threats and challenges. The 2005 Highlevel Plenary Meeting clearly spelled out the need for early reform of the Security Council in order to make it more broadly representative, efficient and transparent. Equally important, reform of the Security Council was seen as part of the overall effort to reform the United Nations. We are pleased that negotiations are now under way on several of the reform issues. But we must also proceed to address the outstanding ones. We therefore welcome today's debate on the crucial issue of Security Council reform. Sweden is among the Member States that have advocated reform of the Security Council since the early 1990s. For the Security Council to remain the primary body in our collective security system, its legitimacy and effectiveness must be assured. Sweden believes that, on the one hand, the Security Council should be expanded, allowing stronger representation from Africa, Asia and Latin America. On the other hand, the Security Council must be an effective body that can act quickly and in a transparent way. We therefore believe that the veto power should not be extended to new members. Instead, a veto-free culture should be promoted. Furthermore, the Security Council's working methods, its transparency and its dialogue with other United Nations bodies must be strengthened. We welcome the efforts to that end by the delegations of Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland. By the end of the year, we should come to an agreement on how we can invigorate the process and carry it forward into 2006. As Sweden has said many times before, non-action on this matter is not an option. For our part, we are ready to contribute to finding a solution that will be broadly accepted and thus seen as truly legitimate. After years of debate, we much reach an agreement on reform of the Security Council. Let us use the momentum of the High-level Plenary Meeting to continue to move forward on this issue. In the end, our global response to the threats and challenges of today will depend on our resolve to reform the United Nations, including the body that has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. 24 A/60/PV.49 Mrs. Holguín (Colombia) (spoke in Spanish): Allow me to add our voice of rejection and condemnation in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Jordan. We reaffirm our support and solidarity to the Government and the people of Jordan. We would like to thank Ambassador Denisov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation and current President of the Security Council, for having introduced the report of the Security Council to the General Assembly (A/60/2). The report reviews all the situations considered in the Council. It depicts the complexity of those situations, particularly in Africa and in the Middle East. We support every effort to achieve stability and peace in those regions. We acknowledge the work of the Council during this particularly complex reporting period. As in previous years, I would like to reiterate that we would have preferred to see a document including not only a summary of the questions under consideration, but also with some content on the Council's decision-making process. We support the progress made on the issue of counter-terrorism and commend the chairmen of the committees for their work. We believe that we must not lose our initial enthusiasm, since that issue is key to world peace and security. There is no doubt that meaningful progress has been made and that support mechanisms for States seeking assistance in efficiently combating terrorism should be strengthened and consolidated in order to continue enhancing the global fight through multilateralism. We also welcome the field missions undertaken by the Council. We believe that they are a way to learn about and understand realities in their true context and scope, based on clear and first-hand information. They will allow us to take more appropriate decisions and to find proper solutions to every situation. In that regard, we acknowledge the work undertaken by the Ambassador of Brazil, Mr. Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg, during that Council's mission to Haiti. The situation in Haiti requires a coordinated and long-term effort by the United Nations to strengthen democratic institutions there and to draw up a sustainable and comprehensive development strategy that would ensure the economic and social progress and well-being of the people, as well as political stability in a secure and peaceful environment. The Council must lead the first phase of stabilization and the United Nations system must respond through economic development programmes that promote sustainability in the efforts and commitments made by the Haitian authorities and the international community in its support and cooperation. We believe that a review of the Council's working methods to promote transparency and the participation of non-member States is essential, especially given that, as stated in the report, "The past 12 months reaffirmed the trend observed in recent years towards a continuous increase in the volume and scope of the activities of the Security Council." (A/60/2, p. 1) That continuous increase in the activities of the Council warrants broader consultation with Member States, regional groups and other relevant actors in order to allow the Council to take better informed decisions aimed at finding viable and definitive resolutions for certain situations. In order to ensure effectiveness and successful results, the Council must focus on threats to international peace and security. Opening the agenda to items not directly related to its core mandate could affect its efficiency and reliability in the exercise of its duties. Just as the Arria Formula has proven its worth during the Council's consultations with nongovernmental organizations and members of civil society, we believe that it is necessary and urgent to seek a similar formula for holding consultations with States. It could be implemented immediately and would require only the Council's willingness to do so. A formula to enable States to address substantive issues alongside the Council would help Council members to gain access to broader and more accurate information on national and regional realities, which could only help the Council to take decisions that are more appropriate to particular contexts and thus find lasting solutions to issues under consideration. In seeking sustainable solutions, its main objective, we believe that the Council should broaden its focus on the follow-up to situations on its agenda. Monitoring alone will not help to solve problems. We believe that the Council must also propose suggestions to the system so that it can mobilize, design and carry out impact projects to contribute to solving crises. A better identification of national needs will help the Council better to address crises and find lasting solutions. 25 A/60/PV.49 With respect to the issue of working methods, we believe that broad consultations would help in the drafting of proposals to improve the Council's actions in exercise of its mandate. In that regard, we believe that the initiative of Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland to invite Member States to discuss that issue is constructive, and we are open to discussing it as a new element that could enrich our debate. I reaffirm my country's commitment to reforming the Council's composition pursuant to the guidelines and proposals submitted by the Uniting for Consensus group and contained in document A/59/L.68. That proposal has major strengths. It is flexible, democratic, open and participatory and has a regional dimension that is unique in this debate. It would prevent the widening of differences within the multilateral system. We believe that Security Council reform falls within the larger reform being undertaken. We have expended a great deal of time and energy on the issue in the past, and it has distracted us from other issues of great importance to most of our countries. We welcome the focus of the presidency of Mr. Jan Eliasson on reforms that will meet the needs and alleviate the problems of peoples, which are ultimately those who must benefit from the decisions we take here. We believe that the major challenges the United Nations faces require unity among all its Members if it is to be respond efficiently and effectively to the world's great tests. It must seek unity, cooperation and consensus among its Members. Those essential elements should be our guidelines throughout the reform process, including that of the Security Council's working methods and expansion. Ms. Moses (Nauru): On behalf of the Government and people of Nauru, I wish to express our deepest sympathy to the Government and people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for the tragic loss of lives in the terrorist attacks in Amman. My delegation thanks you, Sir, for the opportunity to discuss agenda item 9, "Report of the Security Council", and agenda item 117, "Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters". I shall restrict my remarks to agenda item 117. Nauru strongly believes that the reform of the Security Council lies with the need to recognize the intrinsic connection between the pillars that uphold the United Nations system. In that regard, we are disappointed by the relative inaction by Member States in seeking progress on Security Council reform. Nauru welcomes the high priority accorded to the development agenda at the world summit. Comprehensive work has been carried out on the establishment of a human rights council. Texts are now being discussed for the establishment of a peacebuilding commission. Equally important is the need to reform the Security Council and to recognize that international development since the establishment of that body many decades ago now demands a more democratic representation of the global family in an expanded Security Council. The earlier those reforms are implemented, the earlier the work of the United Nations can be further improved. Security Council reform must occur simultaneously with the establishment of the human rights council and the peacebuilding commission, and with United Nations management reforms. Otherwise, the pillars upon which this body was founded will not hold up to the challenges of the twenty-first century. Nauru co-sponsored the reform proposal by the G-4 countries contained in document A/59/L.64, which was introduced at the fifty-ninth session. It is my delegation's strong view that this is still the only draft resolution that provides a proper and complete framework for change and to improve the current structure of the Security Council. It is the only draft resolution that protects the interests of all States, large and small, showing no bias to any particular region or group. My delegation would further welcome its reintroduction at the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. Nauru reaffirms its position that an expanded Security Council must include Brazil, Germany, India and Japan. Ultimately, the success of the United Nations will depend on a reformed and enlarged Security Council. Mr. Maema (Lesotho): We wish to join the many voices that have condemned the terrorist bombings in Amman, Jordan, and on behalf of the Government and the people of Lesotho, I convey our deepest sympathy 26 A/60/PV.49 and condolences to the victims of the attacks, their families, and the people and the Government of Jordan. Let me express my delegation's appreciation to the President of the Security Council for the month of November 2005, Mr. Andrey Denisov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, for introducing the report of the Security Council to the General Assembly. The delegation of Lesotho fully associates itself with the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Nigeria on behalf of the African Group. However, we wish to highlight a few issues that are of particular interest to Lesotho. We have noted an improvement in the quality and content of the report of the Security Council. My delegation welcomes improvements made in the working methods of the Council, particularly the increase in the number of meetings held in public. However, we believe that there still exists room for further improvement. Indeed, the need for the Security Council to enhance its accountability to the entire United Nations membership and to increase the transparency of its work was reiterated by the heads of State and Government at the recent millennium review summit in September. My delegation therefore welcomes progress made over the years, though it has been very slow, by 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, particularly under cluster II concerning the working methods of the Council and the transparency of its work. At this juncture, let me congratulate Ambassadors Paulette Bethel of the Bahamas and Christian Wenaweser of Liechtenstein, the two Vice-Chairpersons of the Working Group, for the magnificent manner in which they steered deliberations on very complex issues in the Working Group, and also for preparing a concise report. My delegation looks forward to future deliberations of the Working Group. We sincerely hope they will be approached with renewed spirits, particularly after the recent review summit. Furthermore, my delegation wishes to express its appreciation for proposals contained in the informal paper circulated by Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland on the working methods of the Council. In our view, the paper provides a useful basis on which the United Nations membership can further build. The Kingdom of Lesotho continues to believe that the issues of the working methods of the Council and of the expansion of its membership are both capable of resolution. What is required is the necessary political will and genuine commitment to making tangible progress on those issues. In September, heads of State and Government requested the General Assembly to review progress on the reform of the Security Council by the end of this year. They reiterated the fact that the Council has to be, among other things, broadly representative and more legitimate. The report of the Security Council confirms the fact that, as has been the case in previous years, the Council was in the past year mostly preoccupied by crises in Africa. It is therefore a hard fact that Africa's representation in the Security Council needs to be enhanced to reflect the continent's interests and perceptions. The Common African Position, as contained in the Ezulwini Consensus and in the Sirte Declaration, is well known. It calls for two permanent seats, with the prerogatives and privileges of permanent membership, and five non-permanent seats for Africa. We therefore appeal to this body to heed Africa's call for support for its position, for it is driven not by the interests of one country, but by a strong desire to empower a region facing various crises relating to international peace and security. Mr. Berruga (Mexico) (spoke in Spanish): At the outset, I would like to express to the people and Government of Jordan Mexico's deepest condolences and condemnation of the despicable terrorist attacks perpetrated two days ago in Amman. At this difficult time, we affirm our solidarity towards our Jordanian friends. Throughout last year, Security Council reform occupied a salient place in the discussions of the Members of the United Nations. At the outset of this new round of consultations, it seems worthwhile asking ourselves: Why does that issue prompt such priority interest? There are three possible explanations. The first is that the Security Council is the organ that is showing the clearest symptoms of being in crisis and that therefore requires the most urgent attention. That is highly debatable. The Security Council may not necessarily be the organ in the most critical situation. 27 A/60/PV.49 The second reason is that the Security Council has consolidated itself as the most influential organ of the United Nations and that any alteration to it will therefore have important repercussions on the general functioning of the system. That assumption appears to be closer to reality. The third reason -- of a more political nature -- is that the international balance of power is currently subject to revision. That would explain the sharp interest being shown in the issues of its composition, number of seats and categories -- permanent and nonpermanent -- of new membership. We may therefore assume that those States occupying a seat in the new structure would enjoy some sort of confirmation of the position they occupy on the world scene. That assumption could also explain why little attention has been given to other Security Council reform issues, such as its working methods and its real capacity to deal with the new threats to international peace and security. Those three assumptions could bring greater objectivity to the reactivation of Security Council reform. In any case, it is clear that the exposure enjoyed by that issue during the months leading to the summit overshadowed our vision and diverted our attention from other reform matters of equally major importance. We now face the challenge of making headway in that most sensitive issue without neglecting issues of overall reform. In order to achieve that two-fold purpose, it would seem advisable to draw lessons from the consultations and debates of the recent past. Beginning today, our efforts to reform the Security Council have an opportunity to be launched with a fresh vision, to avoid polarization among Members and to rebuild an organ better equipped to tackle the main threats to international peace and security. Beyond its final composition, we cannot afford to ignore the fact that the new Security Council will be judged by its results and by its capacity to exert a positive influence on international realities. That is why, in inaugurating this new round of discussions, we must ensure that the substance of the Security Council's raison d'être prevails over its institutional and structural arrangements. We will have failed if the reform of the Security Council does not translate into greater guarantees for the maintenance of international peace and security. We will have wasted an unprecedented opportunity to build a Security Council fit to meet the current and future necessities of the world. Security Council reform has no alternative but to focus on creating the best collective security system possible. At the end of the day, our nations will have to assess and judge whether we have attained a visionary reform able to respond to the major threats of this era. That judgement will be based on the Security Council's efficiency in resolving conflicts in the field and its capacity to improve the security of our peoples. It will also be based on the support and legitimacy that its decisions and mandates enjoy in the eyes of the world community. If it is to meet those conditions -- efficiency, legitimacy and accountability -- the reform of the Security Council must be a product of broad intergovernmental negotiation in which the current deficiencies of the system and of the collective strategies to address threats are clearly exposed. Mexico believes that we will have taken a major step if the progress report requested of the President of the General Assembly by our leaders at the summit can accurately pinpoint the system's principal shortcomings, the major flaws of the sanction regimes, the key issues concerning peacekeeping operations, and the mediation capacity and accountability mechanisms of the Security Council, inter alia. Considering the lessons learned in the past year, we can state that it will be futile and useless to try to reform a main organ of the United Nations without a shared diagnosis of its needs, bottlenecks and real capacity to fulfil its most sensitive tasks. Without such a diagnosis, we cannot understand the operational problems of the Council that we are trying to resolve. In short, the Security Council reform process should adjust itself to a logic and dynamic that would ensure the delivery of relevant results and resolve the real problems. In that respect, my delegation feels that the initiative proposed by Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland is a step in the right direction. That effort underscores the central questions of the Council's functionality and operations. If duly complemented by the diagnosis and negotiations that Mexico is proposing, we believe that the progress report that has been requested in the summit's outcome document will be of special value, since it could serve as a useful basis for the decisionmaking process regarding Security Council reform. 28 A/60/PV.49 Mr. Matulay (Slovakia): The Government of Slovakia joins other members of the international community in expressing its utter abhorrence and condemnation of the multiple attacks perpetrated in Jordan's capital, Amman. The people and Government of Slovakia are greatly shocked by that hideous act of terrorism and express deep sympathy for the bereaved families and friends of the victims. Slovakia strongly condemns terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations, particularly indiscriminate terror against innocent civilians. We must continue to fulfil our obligations in enhancing measures to eliminate international terrorism, including the adoption of a comprehensive convention on terrorism and a counter-terrorism strategy. I would like to convey my delegation's appreciation to the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Andrey Denisov, President of the Security Council for the month of November, for his comprehensive introduction of this year's Security Council report to the General Assembly. We also wish to thank the members of the Secretariat for their efforts in preparing the report. A comprehensive reform of the Security Council, the organ of the United Nations principally responsible for maintaining international peace and security, is vital to our Organization's success at a time when global challenges and problems require strong and thorough international management and functioning multilateral diplomacy. At this year's world summit, many heads of State and Government addressed the reform of the Security Council. Their views were mostly focused on the expansion of the Council's membership. As we have repeatedly expressed on previous occasions, Slovakia is firmly committed to reform of the Security Council. First of all, it needs to be made more representative, more effective and more transparent. In that context, we believe that the Security Council needs to be enlarged in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. The present membership structure is clearly unbalanced and does not truly reflect the current situation in the world in a number of aspects. It would seem only appropriate that enlargement in the permanent category also include countries of the global South. Only such an expansion can rectify the existing imbalance in the composition of the Council. We duly note that several developing and industrialized countries that possess political and economic potential have a claim on permanent membership. We wish to reiterate our position that an enlarged Security Council should include Germany and Japan as new permanent members. We also wish to emphasize that all existing regional groups should be maintained and able to nominate candidates for membership of the enlarged Security Council. In addition to its composition, the working methods of the Security Council need to be enhanced. Some progress has already been made towards making the work of the Security Council more transparent. A number of decisions have been taken by the Council itself with regard to reforming its own procedures in an effort to increase and promote the transparency of its deliberative process and its accountability to the wider membership. Other proposals and initiatives have been introduced to increase efficiency. The reform of the United Nations is not an easy process, but unless we reform its most powerful organ, it will remain unfinished business. Despite the major obstacles to be overcome, we should not relent in our efforts to achieve a meaningful reform of the Security Council so that it can continue to play an effective role as the main body safeguarding the maintenance of international peace and security. In conclusion, I would like to assure you, Sir, and States Members of the United Nations that, during its upcoming tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 2006 and 2007, Slovakia will spare no effort in contributing with its own share of responsibility to making the Security Council as effective and efficient as possible. The meeting rose at 1.10 p.m. 29