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Talking Points for Plenary on Security Council Reform 19 July 2007
Thank you, Madam President, for this opportunity to further the debate on Security Council reform.
New Zealand welcomes the second report, presented by the distinguished ambassadors of Chile and Liechtenstein, – a report which steers the membership towards taking the issue of Security Council reform forward during the 62nd session.
A significant amount of work has gone into the exploration of new ideas this year, and there has been a heightened level of engagement and interest by Member States over recent months.
We all know that Security Council reform is one of the most difficult issues on our agenda, but as there is a general view that the status quo needs to be improved, then we should be prepared to keep the dialogue open.
There are a number of issues we can and should take up during UNGA 62, including further elaboration of the practical details of how an interim model could be constructed – so that Member States can better assess this option, and so that it could be further explored in negotiations, alongside other options still on the table.
On Security Council working methods, we note the paper circulated today by Switzerland on behalf of the S5 and fully support this initiative. We hope all Member States, on and off the Council, will seriously consider these proposals and be prepared to implement them.
We see improvement of working methods as of such importance that we believe we should be prepared to act on these recommendations without delay, even if our ongoing work on enlargement is necessarily on a slower track.
Thank you Madam President for your commitment this year to advancing this challenging issue of Security Council reform.
