New York, 8 June 2018. Yesterday at the United Nations Headquarters, the annual session of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform was concluded. Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi, speaking on behalf of the Uniting for Consensus Group (UfC), underscored the added value of this negotiating format, which, with the constructive participation of all Member States, has allowed for incremental progress throughout the years. “We acknowledge that the unfolding of the IGN has met the expectations. Transparency and inclusivity have always been ensured, and incremental progress, largely consensus-based, has been achieved. Our deliberations have also had an impact on current working methods of the Security Council: in a way, the IGN has already fostered improvements in the Council’s performance”, Ambassador Cardi said.
“Political will, flexibility and a spirit of compromise”, the three elements Ambassador Cardi went on to identify as prerequisites for obtaining tangible progress at this stage of the process. “We believe the ultimate option to best advance this process is based on existing broad convergences among Member States, which are: (1) there is no Member State disagreeing with the idea of expanding the number of non-permanent seats; (2) all Member States agree that such an expansion of seats should favor under-represented regions of the world; and (3) a significant and growing number of Member States has opposed an expansion of the veto and instead supports its limitation”, the Ambassador added.
“We invite all Member States to work with the Uniting for Consensus Group in a manner that takes into account all views. We owe these efforts to all of those who believe in a renewed United Nations, and thus in a Security Council that is more representative, democratic, responsible, transparent and effective. The UfC Group will continue to do its part to advance a consensus-based reform, that enhances the Council’s legitimacy and authority.”