YouSaid · the spoken record

Teo

lines on the record
14
first
2015-10-20
most recent
2016-07-19
sittings or episodes
2
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un-security-council

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  1. “Singapore welcomes such opportunities as this open debate to discuss the important issue of the working methods of the Security Council. Under Japan's leadership, we look forward to a meaningful outcome that will help to strengthen the Council's effectiveness and credibility, as well as its engagement with the broader United Nations membership.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  2. “We hope that the Council will work with the President of the General Assembly to maintain the strong spirit of transparency and inclusiveness in the process that we have seen thus far. In that regard, we note that the Council will soon conduct its first informal straw poll to select the next Secretary-General. However, we regret to hear from the President of the General Assembly that the outcome of the straw poll will not be communicated to the wider United Nations membership. We therefore join the President of the General Assembly and other Member States in urging the Council to communicate more openly with the General Assembly on that very important issue, in line with the new standard of openness and transparency introduced into the process by the President of the General Assembly.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  3. “Singapore reiterates its call to the permanent members of the Council to refrain from using a veto to block Council action aimed at preventing or ending genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. If they have to, they should explain to the wider United Nations membership why they cannot support initiatives aimed at preventing or ending mass atrocities. Such a requirement will serve to make the Council more accountable to the wider membership and the international community for its action, or inaction. Finally, it is our hope that further steps will be taken towards promoting inclusiveness in the Council's work. We are encouraged by the conduct to date, under the leadership of the President of the General Assembly, of the process of selecting the next Secretary-General.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  4. “We are therefore happy to note that there is growing support and movement in favour of limiting the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities. Approximately 100 countries have supported the French-Mexican initiative calling on the five permanent members of the Security Council to voluntarily and collectively pledge not to use the veto in cases of recognized mass atrocities. An even greater number of 112 countries, including my own delegation and eight members of the Security Council, including two permanent members, have also supported the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group's initiative on a code of conduct on Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  5. “Today marks a little over 70 years that the Council first adopted its provisional rules of procedure. In other words, they have been provisionally applied for far longer than most of diplomats who sit on the Council have been in service. Surely it is time for the Council to finally adopt its own rules of procedure. That would be a small, but vital, step towards demonstrating the Council's commitment to transparency and accountability. Secondly, in terms of effectiveness, there have been examples of how the Council has managed to respond, or not, to critical developments. The record has been mixed. Too often in the past, the veto has been used to prevent action to address crimes of atrocity, at the cost of many innocent lives.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  6. “We therefore appreciate Japan's commitment to taking on board views expressed today, and encourage the Council to engage more meaningfully with the wider United Nations membership, especially affected countries and regional organizations, during informal briefings and Arria Formula meetings. That would enhance the quality of discussions and strengthen substantive engagement between the Council and the General Assembly, which would represent a major step towards true transparency and accountability. There are a number of other areas of concern to us that are not specifically listed in note 507 that we wish to raise. First, a practical step that the Council could consider to increase transparency and accountability is to adopt its rules ofprocedure.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  7. “On this, my delegation is pleased to note that there has been good progress in transparency, aided by developments in technology. There have been an increasing number of open debates and informal briefings on the work of the Council to the wider United Nations membership since note 507 was first issued, 10 years ago. More meetings are webcast. More information is disseminated now through the Council's website, The Journal of the United Nations and on social media platforms. Nevertheless, transparency is not an end in itself. It is a means to promote accountability and more effective action by the Council. In that context, more visibility does not necessarily lead to greater credibility. Formulaic statements at open debates, where known positions are regurgitated, do little to effect improvements on the ground.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  8. “Singapore aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran on behalf of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. We express our appreciation to Japan for its long and consistent leadership on this important topic. It was under Japan's chairmanship of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Matters in 2006 that presidential note S/2006/507 was first issued. Note 507 was updated in 2010, again under Japan's chairmanship. The tenth anniversary of note 507 is a fitting time to consider the progress we have made. However, progress is a relative concept. The number of steps taken forward must also be measured against the length of the journey, and how far we have come from the starting point.”

    2016-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7740 (2016) · source

  9. “We look forward to a meaningful outcome on this issue that will help to further strengthen the effectiveness and credibility of the Council.”

    2015-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7539Resumption1 (2015) · source

  10. “Next year, the United Nations membership will need to decide on the next candidate to lead the Organization. We call on the Council to work more closely with the General Assembly, in accordance with their respective mandates as laid down in the Charter of the United Nations, in order to make the process for selecting the Secretary-General more open and transparent. Some of the measures adopted in General Assembly resolution 69/321, such as the joint letter by the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Council inviting candidates to be presented in a timely manner with a description ofthe entire process, are a good start. We need to take further steps in that direction. Singapore welcomes opportunities like today's open debate to discuss the important issue of the working methods of the Security Council.”

    2015-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7539Resumption1 (2015) · source

  11. “It is time for the Council to adopt its rules of procedure to improve the transparency and accountability of its work. That in turn would enhance the Council's credibility with the wider membership of the United Nations. Thirdly, with respect to inclusiveness, in order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, the Security Council has been conferred with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. However, the Council should not allow that to prevent it from working with the wider United Nations membership on key issues that affect all Member States. Ifthe Security Council is to act for the benefit of the wider United Nations membership, it should engage the Member States in a Virtuous cycle of dialogue and effective decision-making.”

    2015-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7539Resumption1 (2015) · source

  12. “In that regard, Singapore supports the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group's code of conduct on Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. We also support the joint proposal of France and Mexico for the permanent members of the Security Council to refrain from using the veto in cases ofmass atrocities. We call on all States Members of the United Nations to do likewise. Secondly, with respect to transparency and accountability, the Council has been operating on provisional rules of procedure for decades. Many of the current working methods are also captured outside the provisional rules of procedure in successive notes by the President of the Council. Given the importance of the Security Council, that is not ideal.”

    2015-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7539Resumption1 (2015) · source

  13. “First, to improve its own effectiveness and accountability, the Council must address the elephant in the room. Too often in the past, the veto has been used to prevent action to address genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that had led to the loss of many innocent lives. Singapore reiterates its call to the permanent members of the Council to refrain from using their right of veto to block Council action aimed at preventing or ending genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. If they must, they should at least explain to the wider United Nations membership why they cannot support initiatives aimed at preventing or ending mass atrocities.”

    2015-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7539Resumption1 (2015) · source

  14. “Singapore aligns itself with the statement just delivered by the respresentative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Singapore has for many years called for improvements to the working methods of the Security Council. Our latest proposals are included in the document on Security Council reform circulated by the President of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly on 31 July. As a small city-State, we will not have many opportunities to be a member of the Security Council, but we attach much importance to the issue of the Council's working methods and would like to see quick progress. We therefore thank Spain for convening today's meeting and for its concept note ((S/2015/793, annex) on the theme of this open debate. We would like to focus on three aspects of the working methods of the Security Council.”

    2015-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7539Resumption1 (2015) · source