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Statement by the delegation of Ukraine at the open debate on the working methods of the Security Council

(19 July 2016)

Mr. President,

At the outset, I would like to commend Japan’s both consistent and fruitful efforts during its previous and current membership in the Security Council on streamlining the work of the Council.

The issue of the Council’s working methods never fails to invite criticism from the wider UN membership, which has a strong perspective on how the Council should or should not discharge its duties.

In this context the adoption of President’s Note 507 back in 2006 represented a significant step toward unifying working methods of the Council.

It is more than fitting for the Council after ten years to make another overview and update of this document to incorporate all relevant decisions approved by the Council in the period that followed, as well as to consider properly new proposals and ideas.

Mr. President,

In recent years we have seen some positive trends within the Council in the working methods area.

First of all, taking into account the upcoming election of a new Secretary-General it is important to make the selection process in the Security Council as transparent and democratic as possible to facilitate election of the best candidate, who will uncompromisingly advocate for the full and unconditional implementation of the UN Charter.

In this regard, Ukraine is encouraged by the approach introduced by the GA resolution 69/321 as well as by the joint letter of the Security Council and General Assembly Presidents dated 15 December 2015. We also welcome the United Nations first-ever informal dialogues with candidates that increased transparency of the SG selection process. At the same time, it is necessary to further develop and formalise the Council’s practice on the SG selection to improve its transparency and to ensure its democratic character. Keeping in mind the importance of the selection result and the political responsibility for it, we believe that preserving the practice of ad-hoc decisions on many aspects of the process is not an option.

We also welcome the adoption of the President’s Note aimed at providing newly elected non-permanent members of the Council with sufficient time to get properly acquainted with the Council’s work before joining the Council. In addition, it is important that this document introducedmore concrete guidelines on the process of appointing chairpersons of the Council’s subsidiary bodies.

We are very pleased with the spirit of cooperation and compromise demonstrated during the negotiations by the Council’s members.

Mr. President,

Another subject that I would like to touch upon is the question of “veto”. This year there have been so far no cases when “veto” right was exercised in the Council chamber. What are we to make of this? Is this the case of the Council being more united or the initiatives on limiting the use of veto announced last year already have a deterrent effect, or a result of other factors?

Ukraine belongs to the group of states that support both the Code of Conduct regarding Security Council Actions in response to genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes and the French-Mexican initiative on suspending the use of veto in cases of mass atrocities. We view these initiatives as important steps towards a more effective and efficient UN Security Council. At the same time, any voluntary limitations and unilateral commitments in this area are not sufficient for ensuring a full accountability of the Council to wider UN membership.

We are convinced that the very existence of “veto” is a significant impediment for the Council’s work. With emergence of new and continuation of already existing conflicts in different parts of the world, the Council, unfortunately, often finds itself paralyzed and unable to properly discharge its direct responsibility.

Just one telling example. Two days ago we marked the second anniversary of a downing of the MH-17 flight. Last year a joint attempt was made to get the Council establish a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for this heinous crime. Had it not been for “veto”, the Council would have sent a strong message that there is no place for impunity today.

Being fully aware that a “veto free” Council is a distant and uncertain reality, we would like to draw attention to the already existing provision in the UN Charter that would prevent the abuse of the veto right by the Council’s permanent members. It is a disgrace that paragraph 3 of Article 27 of the Charter, namely that “a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting”, continues to be blatantly ignored. It is imperative that clear proceedings are introduced for operationalizing and proper implementation of the Article.

Mr. President,

As it has been stated on numerous occasions, preventive diplomacy has to be high on the Council’s agenda, and more focused efforts are to be applied to avert emerging conflicts or to stop a relapse into one. In this regard the Council’s regional visits can play a very important role.

From an unbiased and objective position it is clear that the Council should not face unsurmountable obstacles, especially internally, in organizing a field mission in response to situations that warrant the Council’s engagement on the ground.

In this regard, we welcome the first steps taken back in 2010 in introducing some formal guidelines relating to utilizing this important Council’s tool. We are ready to continue discussions within the Council to further develop and improve provisions on Security Council missions. We believe that following important elements have to be clearly defined by the Council: mission planning and decision-making on its dispatching, mission’s composition, reporting period, form of reporting as well as Council’s decision-making on the mission’s outcome.

Mr. President,

UN membership can definitely count on my Delegation’s support during the Council’s work on the implementation of the outcome of today’s discussion. For us it is obvious that this body, entrusted by the whole UN membership to maintain international peace and security, needs a substantive infusion of predictability and transparency to preserve and strengthen its credibility.

I thank You, Mr. President.