YouSaid · the spoken record

Jürg Lauber

lines on the record
17
first
2020-05-15
most recent
2020-05-15
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1
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un-security-council

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  1. “We welcome the exemplary manner in which today’s discussion is being conducted in relation to principles of accountability, transparency and efficiency S/2020/418 and despite the extraordinary situation. As the pandemic acutely demonstrates, the working methods of the Security Council are of interest to the whole United Nations membership, and are a way to guarantee its readiness and agility in the face of any crisis. Improving them is our collective responsibility. As recent progress and shortcomings show, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness are mutually reinforcing principles that must continue to guide improvements in the working methods of the Security Council. The ACT group is committed to doing its part and to actively contribute and support any initiative to that end.”

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

  2. “First, the responsibilities of members in Security Council matters must be more equally shared so as to enhance the participation of all members, including elected members, in particular when it comes to drafting Council outcomes. Secondly, the fairness and clarity of sanctions processes are important determinants for the implementation and impact of United Nations sanctions and, in that regard, the Ombudsperson mechanism is a key element for the preservation of the integrity, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the Council’s sanctions system. We therefore once again call on the Security Council to take all the necessary measures to further strengthen the independence and impartiality of the Office of the Ombudsperson and to eventually expand the mandate of the Ombudsperson to other sanctions regimes.”

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

  3. “Closer interaction between the Security Council and the General Assembly is also necessary in situations where the Security Council drifts away from the larger membership — and thus the world — including when it is not able to take decisions owing to the use or threat of use of the veto. The ACT group continues to encourage all States, members and non-members of the Security Council alike, to join the 121 signatories of the ACT code of conduct and to implement it. Furthermore, the ACT group calls on the Council to build on the success achieved in the context of the Informal Working Group in 2019 and continue its work on important improvements that have not yet been agreed upon.”

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

  4. “The ACT group calls on the Security Council to show consistency in the implementation of presidential note S/2017/507 and of the eight most recently adopted notes. Among them, the Council now has the opportunity to honour its commitment regarding its annual report, which that should be adopted in the spring, possibly before the end of this month. We would like to recall the importance of that process as a vehicle for transparency and accountability in the Council’s work and look forward to the opportunity to exchange on its content in the General Assembly as shortly as possible.”

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

  5. “Beyond the current situation, we are convinced of the importance of maintaining our attention on the constant improvement of the Security Council’s working methods, of implementing good practices in a consistent manner and of not backpedalling on previous decisions and commitments. In that regard, we particularly welcome the adoption in December 2019, under Kuwait’s leadership as Chair of the Informal Working Group, of eight notes by the President on various issues of importance for the enhancement of the Council’s working methods. We must also acknowledge the progress made in important aspects of the transparency and inclusivity of the Council’s work, such as the holding of wrap-up sessions. These have been organized by 11 of the last 12 Council presidencies over the last 12 months and have overall been increasingly interactive.”

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

  6. “We also encourage the Council to expand the possibility of direct participation by briefers and Member States who are unable to travel to New York, as the crisis has demonstrated further the feasibility of carrying out virtual exchanges between interested parties, including at the highest political level. The full potential of technology can also be harnessed in a variety of other ways — for instance, by exploring the possibility of conducting virtual Security Council visits to the field as a complementary instrument to existing and established physical visits. The ACT group stands ready to contribute to the process of identifying lessons learned from the crisis and to support the work of the Informal Working Group in that process.”

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

  7. “No matter their exact modalities, we believe that the working methods governing open debates should allow member and non-member States of the Council to participate on an equal footing, and we recall that the raison d’être of open debates, as today’s open debate demonstrates, is to give the opportunity to the wider membership to inform Security Council deliberations rather than to merely accompany the adoption of pre-defined Council outcomes.Given those priorities, the ACT group encourages the separation of the debate from the work on, and adoption of, a related outcome. In addition, we continue to note the need for more open debates on country situations, a tool which the Council has used effectively in the past.”

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

  8. “Among those adaptations, the Security Council might consider continuing the practice of circulating in writing all statements made by briefers and Council members at open meetings to all the permanent missions. We would also welcome discussions regarding the possibility of adding the current format of open debates to the Council’s toolbox, characterized by the submission of written statements by non-Council members, with a view to enhancing the Council’s efficiency.”

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

  9. “In spite of the aforementioned progress with regard to inclusion, the Council should take up discussions on the interpretation of virtual meetings in all the official languages of the United Nations. We are also concerned by the fact that civil society representatives, in particular women, have had little opportunity so far to brief the Council since the beginning of the practice of holding virtual meetings. We call on the Council not to let the pandemic reverse important progress made over the last years in that respect. Looking ahead, we also see great merit in considering the present crisis as an opportunity to draw lessons and make some recent adaptations permanent, provided that they would also reinforce the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the Security Council under normal circumstances.”

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

  10. “The ACT group encourages the Council to agree on an updated procedure that allows the Council to vote virtually and in real time. In addition, the ACT group sees no reason that all virtual meetings taking place as per the Council’s mandate are not included in the Council’s formal programme of work and The Journal of the United Nations. The Council meetings taking place currently as VTCs should be deemed to be official formal meetings of the Council. In the same manner, the Council’s subsidiary bodies need to resume their work by either using written procedures or holding VTC meetings as official meetings. We are concerned about the effects that the situation may have on the Council’s reporting instruments under the Charter of the United Nations, in particular its annual report.”

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

  11. “In the future we expect the Security Council to be fully prepared to switch instantly to a virtual mode and to otherwise effectively adapt to any other situation where physical meetings are again not possible. We call on all Council’s members to show flexibility, agility and open-mindedness with regard to necessary adjustments in the procedural framework of the Council, with the overall objective to maintain a state of readiness to meet and make decisions in such unique situations. Furthermore, in spite of the welcome agreement on a written procedure to adopt resolutions, we are concerned that the Council is not in a position to ensure swift reaction to developments pertaining to the maintenance of international peace and security.”

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

  12. “We also welcome the fact that the release of press elements has become the norm rather than the exception since the beginning of the pandemic. However, more efforts are necessary for the Council to meet the standards of efficiency, as well as of accountability and inclusion towards the wider United Nations membership and for the Council to be effective. All that is to be expected, notwithstanding the unprecedented and extraordinary nature of the current situation. To begin with, the absence of any meetings or formal action by the Council for more than two weeks after it was rendered incapable to meet physically is not acceptable in view of the importance of its mandate, when in fact it should show leadership in addressing the crisis.”

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

  13. “The ACT group also acknowledges the progress made in terms of transparency and inclusivity since the Security Council started to carry out its work virtually and after a worrisome start in the new mode. We particularly welcome the fact that all meetings taking place in lieu of briefings in the open Chamber are now being webcast in their entirety, as well as the circulation by the presidency of written statements by briefers and Council members and non-members, where applicable, as official Council documents. The solution to allow the wider membership to participate in S/2020/418 S/2020/418 writing in open video-teleconferences (VTCs) happening in lieu of open debates is another pragmatic and positive innovation.”

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

  14. “While the lack of leadership by the Security Council in addressing the pandemic and its impact on international peace and security is of great concern to our group, we appreciate the agility that the Council has shown with regard to its working methods. Albeit with a slow start by members, the Council has demonstrated flexibility and innovation by agreeing on adaptations that have allowed it to continue to consider the items on its agenda in keeping with its reporting cycle, to address topics and situations requiring the Council’s attention, to vote on resolutions on mandate renewals and other matters and to adopt presidential statements. We congratulate, in particular, the successive presidencies of the Security Council since the outbreak of the pandemic for their efforts.”

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

  15. “Against that backdrop, the ACT group would like to underline important progress and address shortcomings, first in the context of the current situation and, secondly, in the broader context of the working methods of the Security Council. We would also like to make several concrete proposals that could enhance the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the Security Council’s work. The ACT group acknowledges the unprecedented nature of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Secretary-General stated in his 9 April briefing to the Security Council “the world faces the gravest test since the founding of the United Nations”, and the Security Council is not immune to that situation.”

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

  16. “The present context illustrates the existential importance of working methods that meet a high standard of transparency, efficiency and effectiveness. After the coronavirus disease (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. Doing so as quickly as possible is also a key responsibility of the Council towards the wider United Nations membership, on behalf of which the Security Council discharges its mandate. The current crisis thus demonstrates the urgent need for continuous progress on working methods, not only with respect to agreeing on new improvements but also to implementing what has been agreed upon.”

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

  17. “I am pleased to submit this statement on behalf of members of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency (ACT) group — Austria, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Jordan, 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 ACT 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 deployed by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in its capacity as Chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and other Procedural Questions.”

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