PRESS RELEASE
Annual debate on the Security Council reform. Speech by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Ambassador Massari, on behalf of the negotiating group “Uniting for Consensus” (UfC)
New York, November 15th 2021. The General Assembly has launched the proceedings for the annual debate on the Security Council’s reform, the first underAbdulla Shahid’s presidency. The Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, took the floor on behalf of the negotiating group “Uniting for Consensus” (UfC), of which Italy is the Focal Point.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has cast a light on the need for a stronger international cooperation in order to face old and new challenges. Today’s multilateralism needs to be more inclusive, flexible and solution-oriented”, these are the opening remarks from Ambassador Massari’s speech. He went on to underline that “the challenging times we live in should encourage us to undertake a credible and effective reform of the Security Council. This is the only way to boost citizens’ trust in the institutions and simultaneously consolidate the multilateral framework”.
Italy’s Permanent Representative has thus reaffirmed the core points of the UfC’s negotiation blueprint, which calls for the Security Council’s reform that makes this UN organ more efficient, representative, inclusive, transparent and democratic than it was when it was founded in 1945. “Decisions crucial for the international peace cannot be made or vetoed by just a few, without granting every member at least a chance to sit at the negotiating table”. The reform needs to be “for everyone”, which means that we need a solution that meets the interests of all 193 UN member states.
Ambassador Massari then turned to those states who insist on raising the number of members with a permanent seat at the Security Council, and urged them to refrain from going after more privileges. The goal, in his own words, should rather be to increase the share of elective non-permanent seats, which would improve the opportunity for all UN members to have a seat at the Security Council on a rotating basis.
Every region would then be able to make its voice heard, even the small, insular or most vulnerable countries, especially the African nations, among the most penalized in the Council’s history. More than 50 states have never joined the Security Council.
Ambassador Massari concluded his intervention by expressing the UfC’s willingness to take on a proactive role in the negotiating process, the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN). He also reaffirmed the UfC’s full support to the General Assembly’s newly appointed President Shahid in order to enable a constructive dialogue that can overcome the disagreements still existing on issues such as the Security Council’s make-up and right to vote.
Ambassador Massari’s remarks are attuned to the joint statement issued by the 12 UfC’s members on September 23rd at the end of the meeting chaired by Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Di Maio on the sidelines of the week of high-level conferences held during the UN General Assembly.
