United Nations, The G4 nations of Brazil, Germany, India and Japan have expressed strong concern over the lack of progress on UN Security Council reform during the previous Inter-Governmental Negotiations session.
Foreign Minister of Brazil Mauro Vieira, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann David Wadephul, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Motegi Toshimitsu met Tuesday on the margins of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The G4 Joint Ministerial Statement on the Reform of the UN Security Council, issued after the meeting, noted that the Security Council is currently unable to effectively discharge its core responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
Deep Dive
What are the main concerns expressed by the G4 nations regarding UNSC reform?
Why do G4 nations believe UNSC reform is urgent?
How do the G4 nations plan to push for UNSC reform moving forward?
"The representativeness, legitimacy, credibility and efficacy of the UNSC are in question, the G4 statement said.
They assessed that one of the key underlying reasons was the eight-decade-old architecture, which did not reflect contemporary geopolitical realities and hindered efforts to effectively address present and future challenges to peace and security.
The G4 Ministers noted that the IGN framework has been largely "ineffective" in forging any concrete outcomes towards real UNSC reform despite 18 years of activities.
{{/usCountry}}The G4 Ministers noted that the IGN framework has been largely "ineffective" in forging any concrete outcomes towards real UNSC reform despite 18 years of activities.
{{/usCountry}}They "expressed strong concern at the lack of progress during the previous IGN session as well. Specifically, they conveyed their serious reservations against the presentation of a so-called bridging proposal even prior to commencement of text-based negotiations."
The G4 nations regretted that the proposal does not take into account the views of a clear majority of Member States in favour of expansion in both categories of membership.
They also recalled that, in accordance with the UN Charter and as reflected in the IGN mandate, consensus is not the benchmark for decision-making on Security Council reform.
"Moving forward, the G4 will further collaborate and identify synergies with other reform-oriented groups with a view to developing a consolidated model that properly reflects the voice of a majority of Member States and commencing text-based negotiations as a high priority, which is the key to realising the vision of real and impactful UNSC reform," it said.
The group said that this is essential to restoring the representativeness, legitimacy, credibility and efficacy of a principal organ of the UN and to strengthening the multilateral system, with the UN at its heart, as a whole.
The G4 Ministers reiterated that "discussions on reform need not be confined to the IGN and expressed their willingness to engage with the wider UN membership on this issue in other forums, including the UN General Assembly."
Reviewing the discussions in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations framework with regard to reform of the UN Security Council during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, the Ministers underlined that, given the increasingly challenging geopolitical environment, UNSC reform is more necessary than ever before.
The G4 Ministers emphasised that it is crucial to implement UNSC reform at the earliest so that the Council is fit-for-purpose, truly reflecting contemporary geopolitical realities.
They underscored that expansion of the UNSC in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership is central to such reform and that this position is supported by a majority of Member States.
In this context, they reiterated the importance of improving the representation of the underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups, such as Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, in both these categories.
They further underlined the importance of increasing participation of under-represented and unrepresented groups and regions, such as Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean.
They recognised historical injustices with regard to representation in the Security Council, as well as of enhancing participation of Member States that are contributing significantly to maintaining international peace and security and to the other purposes of the United Nations.
The G4 Ministers underscored their continuing support for Africa's compelling case for enhanced representation in the UNSC, including in the permanent category of membership.
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