YouSaid · the spoken record

Jan Kickert

lines on the record
7
first
2020-05-15
most recent
2020-05-15
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. “Austria will continue to measure the success and failure of the Council not by its substantive outcomes alone, but also by how well it can adapt its working methods to become more transparent, inclusive and accountable.”

    2020-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/418 (2020) · source

  2. “Notwithstanding the current crisis and its impact on the Council’s working methods, I would be remiss if I did not point towards unfinished business when it comes to the implementation of presidential note S/2017/507, as well as notes S/2019/990 to S/2019/997. Now is not the time for complacency. I do not believe that the current dynamics, which pit the five permanent members (P-5) against each other, the P-5 against the 10 elected members of the Security Council and the Council members against the wider United Nations membership are in any way useful or constructive. Our common goal should be a Council that delivers on its mandate.”

    2020-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/418 (2020) · source

  3. “Thirdly, once the COVID-19 crisis has passed and physical meetings have resumed, the Council should incorporate the positive aspects of its virtual work. It should continue extending invitations for virtual participation — both to high-level S/2020/418 representatives from capitals and to civil society briefers who cannot travel to New York. That would both raise the profile of Council meetings and make its debates more inclusive. An excellent example of how that can work in practice is the recent Arria Formula meeting on “75 Years from the End of the Second World War on European Soil”, organized on 8 May under the Estonian presidency.”

    2020-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/418 (2020) · source

  4. “It is apparent that a lack of progress on those issues cannot be due to technical difficulties alone. Sometimes, it is the lack of political will that is the biggest challenge. Austria strongly encourages future Council Presidents to address those outstanding issues. Even though we are still in the midst of the current crisis, I believe it is not too early to draw some conclusions for the future. First, it has become clear that the Council, like all other organs of the United Nations system, needs to be quicker and more agile in responding to future crises. Secondly, the whole United Nations membership, together with the United Nations Secretariat, needs to have a frank discussion, including in the Fifth Committee, about modernizing the information technology systems necessary for ensuring business continuity.”

    2020-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/418 (2020) · source

  5. “Due to the informal nature of the meetings, open and closed VTCs cannot be announced in The Journal of the United Nations, thus adding to the lack of transparency vis-à-vis the wider United Nations membership and the general public. Interpretation of said Council meetings into all official United Nations languages is still unavailable. Moreover, voting on draft resolutions is taking place through a lengthy written procedure instead of in an open VTC, thus adversely impacting both transparency and efficiency. Finally, the participation of the wider United Nations membership in open VTCs of the Council, in accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, is possible only in written form, thus compounding the lack of interaction between the Council members and the wider United Nations membership.”

    2020-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/418 (2020) · source

  6. “The Council has found a way to organize virtual meetings, adopt resolutions and other Council instruments and to agree on press elements after closed video-teleconference meetings (VTCs). I commend the monthly presidencies of China, the Dominican Republic and Estonia on circulating letters in order to keep the wider United Nations membership informed on the Council’s working methods. Nevertheless, Austria has identified several gaps affecting the transparency and efficiency of the Council’s work. Both open and closed VTCs are still considered informal Council meetings. Austria is concerned about the potential long-term consequences of the lack of official records of Council meetings during this period.”

    2020-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/418 (2020) · source

  7. “First, let met thank Ambassador Inga Rhonda King, Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and other Procedural Questions, as well as Ms. Karin Landgren, Executive Director of the Security Council Report, for their briefings. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has presented the whole United Nations system, including the Security Council, with unprecedented challenges related to business continuity. Austria, as part of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group, has been following with great interest the Council’s efforts to adapt its working methods. I recognize that substantial progress has been made in helping the Council discharge its duties under the Charter of the United Nations.”

    2020-05-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/418 (2020) · source