- Mr. President, thank you for convening this Working Group on reform of the Security Council. I would like to express our full support to the two Co-chairs, my colleagues, the Ambassador of Bahamas and the Ambassador of the Netherlands.
- The convening of the Working Group gives us a good opportunity to discuss how to move forward on the vital issue of early reform of the Security Council. As we are in the midst of implementing decisions from the 2005 World Summit, we must not loose sight of the fact that reform of the Security Council is an essential part of the overall effort to reform the United Nations. As stated before by Sweden in this Assembly, non-action on this issue is not an option. The Security Council must be reformed.
- To be able to address challenges and threats on the global agenda, the world needs a strong, legitimate, and efficient Security Council. As other UN organs are being reformed, the Security Council’s composition, size and working methods must also be reformed.
Mr. President,
- Sweden believes that the Security Council should be expanded with new members, allowing a stronger representation from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Any reform of the membership of the Council should be subject to an effective review mechanism.
- The Security Council must be an effective body that can act quickly and in a transparent way. We, therefore, believe that the veto power should not be extended to new members. Instead, a general veto-free culture should be promoted in the council. Furthermore, the Security Council’s working methods, transparency and its dialogue with other UN bodies must be strengthened. We welcome the continued efforts to this end by the Delegations of Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland.
- We must move forward. We now need to show flexibility, an open mind and seek solutions that can garner broad support. I can assure you that Sweden will continue to engage actively in a constructive dialogue on how to reform the Security Council.