Mr. Facilitator,
Sweden fully aligns itself to the statement made by Luxemburg on behalf of the European Union, and would like in this intervention to focus on two components of the institutional reform package, namely the reform of the Security Council and the revitalization of the General Assembly.
In making these comments, we underline, and take as a starting point, the imperative to change the UN institutions in order to meet the challenges in the nexus of development, security and human rights, as developed in the report of the Secretary General. Reform of the Security Council has been debated for over a decade. This year, we have an opportunity to come to a conclusion in this debate. As the Secretary-General has so clearly stated in his report In Larger Freedom, "no reform of the United Nations would be complete without a reform of the Security Council." We fully subscribe to his recommendation that a decision should be taken on this matter before the High Level Meeting is inaugurated.
To Sweden, the Security Council should be reformed in such a way that its legitimacy and effectiveness is strengthened. To achieve this, a reform of the Security Council should meet certain criteria:
1. Strengthened legitimacy by allowing a fairer representation of regions, including Africa, Asia and Latin America. We acknowledge that there are a number of member states which have assumed greater responsibility in international affairs since the founding of the United Nations, and which therefore have strong arguments for a position in the Council commensurate with their standing in the world and their willingness to contribute to the United Nations.
2. On accountability, Sweden supports increased involvement by Member States who contributes most to the United Nations in political, financial and military terms in line with the Secretary General's report. To assess such contributions and increase accountability we would strongly favour a review of the composition of the Council no later than ten years after the coming into force of an expansion. Such a review would also allow us to take into account global or regional developments, to ensure that the Council reflects geopolitical realities. A joint seat for the European Union should not be ruled out as an option for the future.
3. The Work of the Security Council must continue to be as effective as possible. Therefore, we strongly believe that no extension of the veto power should taken place. On the contrary, ways must be found to further limit the use of the veto. In addition and in line with longstanding Swedish priorities we would like to see the Council work more proactively to prevent conflict to occur, reacting appropriately on early warning signals.
As to the two models presented, now by the Secretary General in his report In Larger Freedom, we believe that both models in the Secretary-General's report fulfil Sweden's principal requirement of making the Council more representative. At this important juncture in time, we must together find ways to bridge the different perspectives among member states on Security Council reform, in order to find broadest possible agreement. Sweden stands ready to take an active part in such deliberations.
Sweden welcomes the proposals in the Secretary General's report aimed at revitalising the General Assembly. To us, the suggested reform package must be filled with bold measures. As Sweden has stated before, many of the irrelevant and repetitive resolutions should be removed from the Assembly's agenda, and be replaced by thematic debates and discussions between Member States on current topics. In this respect, we, therefore, welcome the recommendation by the Secretary-General that the Assembly reviews all the mandates older than five years as a way to streamline and focus the debate. The reform package should also include measures to strengthen the role of the Presidency of the Assembly, and to streamline the consideration of humanitarian issues in the Assembly. The latter could be achieved by bringing all humanitarian issues into one Main Committee only.
A reform package will of course only be adopted if there is true political will. Sweden, being one of the five facilitators on General Assembly reform, looks forward to continue to work in order to secure a substantial outcome of reform of the General Assembly as soon possible, preferably already during this session.
I thank you.