G-4 foreign ministers again underscore their continuous commitment for UNSC reform

Group of Four (G-4) Ministers met here on Thursday and once again underscored their continuous commitment to a Security Council reform reflective of the geopolitical realities of the 21st century.

In a joint statement issued after their meeting, foreign ministers of Brazil (Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado), Germany (Frank-Walter Steinmeier), India (Sushma Swaraj) and Japan (Fumio Kishida) agreed that the difficulties of the Security Council to effectively address current international challenges were a compelling reminder of the urgent need for a Security Council reform which makes it more broadly representative, efficient and transparent and thereby further enhances its effectiveness and the legitimacy and implementation of its decisions.

The ministers, who met on the margins of the opening of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to exchange views on Security Council reform, further voiced their concern that, 70 years after the foundation of the United Nations, 50 years after the first and only time that the Security Council was reformed, nearly 15 years after the Millennium Summit and 10 years after the 2005 World Summit - when our leaders unanimously called for an early reform of the Security Council - discussions are still at a stalemate.

They underscored that the process of bringing about reforms of the Security Council should not be seen as an endless exercise.

The G-4 Ministers, therefore, invited all their counterparts to use the 70th anniversary of the UN as an opportunity to finally achieve a concrete outcome on a process that has dragged on for over twenty years and to engage in all possible efforts to fulfill, by September 2015, the mandate given by our Heads of State and Government.

The G-4 countries reiterated their commitment as aspiring new permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as their support for each other's candidatures.

They also reaffirmed their view of the importance of developing countries, including from Africa, to be represented in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of an enlarged council.

The ministers emphasized their readiness to further reach out to reform-oriented member states in order to discuss models of an enlarged Security Council in the permanent and non-permanent categories.

In this context, they commended Japan's initiative to host an outreach meeting with other UN member states, with attendance from participants with a wide range of views on the reform issue in July 2014.

They recognized the need for greater involvement of civil society, the media and academia on the discussions about the reform of the Security Council and recalled the seminars hosted by Brazil, India and Japan to broaden the debate on the urgency of reforming the body.

The ministers also discussed the outcome of the tenth round of the inter-governmental negotiations on Security Council reform.

They expressed their appreciation for the important role played by the President of the 68th General Assembly, H.E. Mr. John Ashe, in generating positive momentum for the negotiations, notably reflected in the establishment of an Advisory Group, which produced a non-paper providing a clear summary of the main positions of Member States under each of the five key issues contained in decision 62/557.

They also welcomed the assessment, dated 9 July 2014, by the chairman of the IGN, Ambassador Tanin, and noted with interest his call for a high-level event to be held at the general debate of the 70th General Assembly and the need to finally start text-based negotiations.

They expressed their expectations to work closely with the President of the 69th General Assembly, Sam Kahamba Kutesa, in order to bring about the urgently needed reform of the Security Council.

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