YouSaid · the spoken record

Coherence and Transparency Group

lines on the record
13
first
2021-06-18
most recent
2021-06-18
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group is committed to doing its part and actively contributing to and supporting any initiative towards this end.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  2. “As the pandemic acutely demonstrates, the working methods of the Security Council are of interest to the whole United Nations membership and the way to guarantee its readiness, agility and inclusivity in the face of any crisis. Improving them is our collective responsibility, especially as the Security Council – just like all of us – will not have the excuse of “not seeing it coming” when extraordinary circumstances of a similar magnitude to the COVID-19 pandemic are on our doorstep. Drawing lessons from the pandemic and implementing improvements are thus a matter of urgency. As recent progress as well as shortcomings in responding to the COVID-19 crisis show, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness are mutually reinforcing principles that must continue to guide improvements in the working methods of the Security Council.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  3. “For both normal and extraordinary circumstances, the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group also reiterates its invitation for the Council to explore the possibility of receiving more dynamic virtual briefings (including data-based presentations, visualization and augmented reality) and of conducting virtual Council visits to the field as a complementary instrument to existing and established physical visits. The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group would also like to reiterate its call on the Security Council to give due consideration, in its annual report, to the impact of the pandemic on international peace and security and the Council’s work and tools, possibly through a dedicated section with an overall and cross-cutting analysis of the matter.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  4. “Furthermore, as the digitalization of our societies is accelerating, the Council would be remiss not to harness the potential offered by technology in order to better function in any circumstances. While we reiterate our strong preference for the participation of non-Council members through their physical presence at Headquarters, it cannot be excluded that situations necessitating the use of virtual participation at meetings could emerge in the future. For those circumstances (and indeed while open debates continue to be conducted virtually), we urgently need to find a solution to enable non-Council members to participate fully and directly in virtual open debates.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  5. “In doing so, the Council’s primary objective should be ensuring that such contingency plans allow the Council and its subsidiary organs to carry out all aspects of its work, in particular by enabling the Council to vote virtually and in real time on both substantive and procedural matters, in line with article 27 of the Charter of the United Nations and with the provisional rules of procedure, and to ensure the creation of official meeting records for public Council meetings that would reflect the meetings verbatim. We regret that, during the current pandemic, health restrictions impacted the inclusivity of the Council for both non-Council members and other stakeholders. It is crucial that the participation of civil society representatives, in particular women and young people, be strengthened in all circumstances.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  6. “A third lesson to be drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic is that there is still room for improvement if and when the Council is faced with another situation requiring extraordinary adaptations to the functioning of the Council. The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group calls on the Council to actively engage in contingency planning, including on the basis of – but not limited to – the proposals made by the Chair of the Informal Working Group.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  7. “We also invite the Security Council to continue the practice of the written circulation to all permanent missions of all statements made by briefers and Council members during open meetings, including explanations of votes during the adoption of resolutions. Furthermore, the Group calls on the Council to continue the positive momentum towards the continued institutionalization of wrap-up sessions, a clearly noticeable trend in the past two years. We call on Council members to continue to work towards the improvement of this well-established format, in particular with regard to the interactivity and substance of discussions, and to draw from the proposals contained in the non-paper on wrap-up sessions of the Group dated 14 June 2021.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  8. “Among these adaptations, there is no doubt that the virtual meetings allowed for greater high-level participation of representatives from capitals in Council meetings. The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group sees merit in considering maintaining, whenever appropriate, the possibility of the virtual high -level participation of all United Nations members and combining it with in-person meetings of the Council. Such hybrid formats would not only enhance the inclusivity of the Council’s work but also provide more equal opportunities for all Member States to be represented at a high level. The holding of virtual meetings has also enabled the participation of some civil society briefers who may otherwise have been unable to visit New York in person, a practice that the Group encourages.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  9. “Expediting the adoption of the eight draft notes of the President currently being discussed in the Informal Working Group would be an important contribution towards these goals. A second lesson to be drawn from the last fifteen months is that this crisis has forced people and institutions to adapt and innovate. The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group would like to commend the Security Council members that have taken innovative initiatives in the field of working methods. We see great merit in considering the present crisis as a positive opportunity to make permanent some recent adaptations, provided that they reinforce the transparency, eff iciency and effectiveness of the Security Council under normal circumstances also.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  10. “The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group thus welcomes the leadership by successive presidencies in adapting the working methods to constantly evolving circumstances during the crisis. We equally welcome the constant engagement on working methods, either within the framework of the Informal Working Group or with regular discussions under the heading of “any other business”. We also look favourably on the trend of addressing issues related to working methods during opening and wrap-up sessions, including with the direct participation of the Chair of the Informal Working Group. The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group calls on the Council to keep this positive momentum and focus on the constant improvement of working methods as we move back to the Council chamber.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  11. “We are grateful for the opportunity provided by this open debate for our Group to make several proposals towards these objectives while working towards enhancing transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in the work of the Security Council. If there is one main lesson to be drawn from the crisis, it is that working methods are of existential importance for a functioning multilateral system. After the COVID-19 pandemic rendered physical meetings impossible, adapting the working methods to the new situation has been essential for the Security Council in order to ensure business continuity and COVID-19 pandemic discharge of its mandate. Doing so as quickly as possible is also a key responsibility of the Council to the wider United Nations membership, on whose behalf it acts.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  12. “The focus of today’s open debate could hardly be more timely, as Headquarters in New York is progressively moving back to in-person meetings following the unprecedented operating challenges caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID -19) pandemic. As in so many other fields, the COVID-19 pandemic put to the test and laid bare the strengths and weaknesses of the Security Council’s working methods. The Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group is convinced that we cannot go back to the status quo ante – we must not miss the opportunity that this crisis has generated to consolidate the strengths of the Council’s working methods, address its fundamental flaws and build on the innovations.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source

  13. “I am pleased to submit this statement on behalf of the 27 members of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group: Austria, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sweden, Uruguay and Switzerland. One of the core objectives of the Group is to encourage better working methods in United Nations organs, in particular the Security Council. We thank today’s briefers for their statements and commend the efforts made by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in its capacity as Chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and other Procedural Questions.”

    2021-06-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/572 (2021) · source