JOINT STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF
ANGOLA. CHILE, JORDAN, MALAYSIA, NEW ZEALAND AND SPAIN
OPEN DEBATE ON WORKING METHODS
20 OCTOBER 2015
I am speaking today on behalf of Angola, Chile, Jordan, Malaysia, New Zealand and
Spain, six countries from six different regions of the world. We are six Security Council
members who are committed to collaboration and to working together on this set of
issues, including my own country as Chair of the Working Group on Documentation and
Other Procedural Questions of the Security Council. We share a common wish to make
the working methods of the Council and the Council’s interactions with other Organs of
the UN system more effective and to better reflect contemporary realities.
This annual Open Debate is about much more than just working methods of the
Security Council. It’s about Council decision-making, culture, and effectiveness. It goes
to the heart of the Council’s performance and accountability to the whole UN membership
and the Charter. The current crises facing the UN and the Council’s difficulty in
responding effectively suggests the need for a new approach.
Meaningful change is driven by practice, taking the initiative, and leading by
example as much as rules and procedure. While there are good ideas for working
methods contained in the Presidential Notes agreed by the Council, the dilemma is that
they are couched in vague language, often are not implemented, and some Council
members even resist implementing them.
This reflects the disconnect between the Council’s working methods, this Open Debate,
and the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Procedure. The Council will find
solutions and improve its performance by adapting its working methods in innovative
ways to the needs of specific cases – not from generic work in the Informal Working
Group, although the latter should base its future work on the common points of action
from the outcomes of this Open Debate.
The Council has to throw off some of the constrictions that have cramped even the way it
discusses matters, let alone how it makes decisions. While consensus on procedure is
a fine goal, it should not be elevated to the point where we have a 15 member veto, not
just in the Council itself, but also in its subsidiary bodies including its sanctions
committees. That was never the intention of the Charter.
All Council members have a responsibility to find solutions to improve our processes and
culture, and at all levels of our diplomacy. For this reason we have fostered increased
dialogue among the Permanent Representatives of the Council on working
methods, including a monthly meeting to discuss how we work together on the issues
ahead of us.
We also need working methods which produce effective political focus in the
Council’s work. The Council’s members have to display more discipline and restraint on
the range of initiatives, many of which absorb valuable time and distract us from real
problem solving and diplomacy, and have limited world impact. We also have some
distance to go, in terms of focus and interactivity, to ensure that open debates are a
useful forum for exchanging views between the Council and the rest of the Organisation.
They need to be more than a platform for States to record national positions.
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JOINT STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF
ANGOLA. CHILE, JORDAN, MALAYSIA, NEW ZEALAND AND SPAIN
OPEN DEBATE ON WORKING METHODS
20 CTOBER 2015
The veto may not strictly be a working method, but it has a significant negative impact –
a ‘cascade effect’ – on working methods of the Council where Elected Members are
routinely excluded for no reason other than habit. There needs to be a more inclusive
process for developing resolutions and presidential statements. All Council members
need the opportunity to engage and contribute meaningfully. It’s a simple request, but in
current Council practice it is the exception not the norm.
Arguably, the very recent introduction of the penholdership system has improved
Council efficiency. It ensures that first drafts of most Council products are prepared by
delegations with consistent knowledge and a long background in the issues. But it has
also diminished the opportunity for wider Council engagement, especially by the Elected
Members, and has significantly increased the risk of Council products being crafted in a
way that protects the interests of the Permanent Members. In these respects, the
system cuts across the principle of collective responsibility that underpins the Charter.
We all should feel a sense of ownership of the Council’s work, and we should not
preclude others offering their drafting ideas for texts. Wherever possible we want to
encourage changes to the penholdership system. This is an obvious way to ensure both
the necessary continuity, including through Permanent Members, along with inclusion of
Elected Members and leveraging their relevant expertise – whether regional,
chairmanship of subsidiary bodies, or otherwise.
As our three briefers today made clear, the Council needs to become better at
cooperating with other UN and regional organs, bodies and offices. One simple
way for promoting better interaction would be for Council members to respect the role of
the Presidency in organising the Council’s regular business for the month. This should
include arranging for interactions with the Secretariat, the Assembly and ECOSOC, and
also with other bodies such as the Peacebuilding Commission whose advisory and early
warning capacity are of direct importance to the Council’s work. We also need to get
more serious about the supporting partnerships and complementary roles of the UN,
regional organisations and counterparts, especially the African Union, in preventing and
managing conflicts. In this effort, it is also important to improve the consultations and
coordination with TCC and PCC countries, especially in relation to mandates development
and renewals. The knowledge and challenges acquired in the field by them is an asset
that this Council must consider when discussing its mandates.
The process for the Secretary-General’s appointment, which includes the Council’s
close cooperation with the General Assembly, will be a key issue for all members of the
Organisation over the next year. It is not acceptable that the Council has been slow to
take up the necessary engagement between the Presidents of the General Assembly and
Security Council on this matter of direct importance to all Member States. This is
especially relevant given the unequivocal call from the General Assembly - which we
JOINT STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF
ANGOLA. CHILE, JORDAN, MALAYSIA, NEW ZEALAND AND SPAIN
OPEN DEBATE ON WORKING METHODS
20 CTOBER 2015
have all supported - for dialogue and a more transparent and inclusive process of
decision-making on this issue.