This site uses technical, analytics and third-party cookies.
By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies.

Preferences cookies

STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR SEBASTIANO CARDI, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ITALY TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON BEHALF OF THE “UNITING FOR CONSENSUS” GROUP, AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING ON THE QUESTION OF EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION AND INCREASE IN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL AND RELATED MATTERS (September 14, 2015)  

Mr. President,

On behalf of the Uniting for Consensus group, I wish to thank you for your leadership during the 69th General Assembly.

The oral decision we have just adopted has always been – and indeed remains – a technical roll-over of the agenda item on Security Council reform to the next session of the General Assembly. With the constructive approach with which we have always engaged in this process, Italy and the rest of the Uniting for Consensus group have decided to support the text before us convinced that, at this stage, an orderly transition to the 70th session must be our collective priority.

Yet, recalling the UfC letter of 6th of August, we would like to underscore, and place on record, that the reference in the oral decision to the text you circulated on 31st July 2015 cannot be interpreted as an endorsement of it, neither in substance nor in procedure.

Member States were not duly consulted either before or after the circulation of the final version of that text. In fact, the membership as a whole was not given any opportunity, formal or informal, to discuss such text, while a number of Member States, including the UfC countries, have expressed their reservations about it. 

Today, Mr. President, we agree to build our collective task during the 70th session of the General Assembly on the work undertaken by Member States throughout the IGN process. All sessions of the IGN have made important contributions to the reform process, and must be given due consideration when we resume our work.

The UfC group is willing to engage in the next round of negotiations seeking an agreement supported by all Member States – as first step – on the underlying principles of the reform process.

This applies also to those principles attaining to procedure: to make significant progress, we need to rely on a clear and predictable approach for the conduct of the next IGN round. All Member States need to be consulted in a timely manner and at every single stage of our next session of work.

Full transparency and inclusiveness are key elements of our membership-driven process.

Building on these essential principles, the UfC group is ready to continue engaging in future negotiations with full confidence and the sincere conviction that a consensual and sustainable reform of the Security Council is possible.

Thank you, Mr. President.