Виступ делегації України на засіданні ГА ООН щодо реформування РБ ООН
Mr. President,
Thank you for convening today’s debate. My delegation fully supports your personal engagement and energy you are investing from the very beginning of your Presidency in order to advance the reform and modernization of the Security Council.
Ukraine considers making Security Council more representative and balanced and its work more effective and transparent, especially with regard to the decision-making, as vital in adapting the UN to the global realities of the 21st century.
Ukraine considers as high priority both directions of reform: enlargement of the Security Council and improving of its working methods. Achievement of progress in any of these spheres will meet interests of Ukraine.
Being the current elected member of the Council Ukraine participates actively in the deliberations of its members aimed at making this body more efficient and transparent. For instance, one could see very positive developments with the selection process of the Secretary-General this year. Yet this process needs further improvement in order to become truly transparent and inclusive.
Furthermore, under initiative of the elected members of the Council an important Note of the President (S/2016/619) was adopted last July in order to facilitate entry into the Council by the newly elected members as well as to distribute chairmanships of the Council’s subsidiary bodies in more transparent and inclusive way. Even though implementation of this Note is uneven thus far, its provisions, we are sure, will have far-reaching positive impact on the Council’s functioning.
During our membership in the Council, in cooperation with all its members, we will further endeavor in streamlining Council’s work, including by the way of updating well-known Note of the Council’s President S/2010/507.
Mr. President,
While Ukraine is open for discussing all progressive options and new approaches to the UN Security Council reform, we particularly welcome initiatives aimed at streamlining the negotiation process and making it more pragmatic and result-oriented.
In this regard, we are grateful to Ambassador Silvia Lukas for preparing outcome document of our IGN deliberations during the previous GA session showing a number of convergences in the positions of the UN Member States. We also hope that the element of interactivity brought Ms. Lucas into the debate will be maintained and further developed in the Intergovernmental Negotiations.
My delegation welcomes the appointment of Ambassadors of Romania and Tunisia as Co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations, who certainly can count on my delegation’s support in their difficult and challenging assignment of leading the IGN.
On our part, we are ready to participate actively in the Negotiations during the current GA session. Ukraine supports all steps — either procedural or substantial ones — which can lead to the long-delayed progress in this area.
We are convinced that proposals and positions reflected in the framework document, circulated on 31 July 2015, continue to constitute a solid basis for further discussions.
As for the Eastern European Group, I would like to underline that any increase in the non-permanent membership of the Security Council should ensure an enhanced representation of the Group of Eastern European States.
Mr. President,
My country’s position remains firm also on another most complex but crucial issue of the Security Council reform — the question of “veto”.
The gross violations of the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law by Russia, which put into question the whole European if not global security, and inability of the Security Council to react promptly to this actions — only prove the need of phasing out the use of “veto”.
In the meantime, all permanent members of the Security Council have to pledge voluntarily and collectively not to use it in cases of mass atrocities, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and acts of aggression. Ukraine joined the ACT Group initiative as well as the one of French and Mexican and calls upon all UN Member States to follow suit.
In conclusion, I want to stress that for the reasons above, for my country the need for the Security Council reform stands now as high as never before.
I thank you.