HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MIROSLAV LAJČÁK

SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM REQUIRES A MEANINGFUL PROCESS & REAL DIALOGUE, PRESIDENT TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

• This morning the President addressed the General Assembly’s meeting on Security Council reform. This was the plenary’s first formal meeting on this topic in the 72nd session. The exact agenda item was titled: “Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council.’
• In his remarks, the President noted that Security Council decisions can mean the difference between life or death – and the Council’s work is seen as one of the major indicators of the United Nations’ role in the world. In that regard, he told Member States that if they do not answer calls for change to the Council, then the continued relevance and even the very survival of the United Nations is at stake.
• Noting that we are approaching the 10th year of intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, the President said, “The time for trying is up.” What was needed now was real dialogue, real listening, and real interaction.
• He said, “Without these elements, this process will become nothing but a statement-reading exercise. And it will feature nothing but the repetition of well-known and static positions.”
• Calling for a credible process and meaningful progress, the President stressed his commitment to transparency and inclusivity.
• He acknowledged that some Member States were “standing on opposite ends of the spectrum”. But he also said it was possible for them to make history.
• There were 63 speakers inscribed to take the floor. Seven of those representatives spoke on behalf of groups.
• Asked if the President felt that the Member States would be able to reach consensus on how to reform the Security Council, the Spokesperson said the President realized that this would continue to be a difficult process. For his part, the President would continue to do whatever the Member States allowed him to do to advance the process. He had appointed the new Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) relatively early so that the process could get underway as soon as possible for the 72nd session.
• In response to additional questions about the President and the Security Council reform process, the Spokesperson noted that the President’s focus was people. He wanted to make sure that people understood that the United Nations was working for them, to improve their lives. If people did not trust in the Security Council, and if they saw it as an outdated body, that would hurt the credibility of the entire United Nations.
• The Spokesperson stressed that the process was in the hands of the Member States. The President could not force them to take any action that they did not want to take. All he could do was to create the conditions for the process to advance. That process included the putting together of a calendar for Member States, to allow for forward planning.
• Responding to further questions, the Spokesperson said that the President could not impose any artificial deadlines on the Member States. It was also not up to the President to make predictions or anticipate what may or may not happen. He could only use his powers as President to convene Member States and impress upon them why it was important to reform this body that was so crucial to maintaining international peace and security.
• Asked who the President would select to serve as the new Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN), the Spokesperson said that the Permanent Representatives of Georgia and the United Arab Emirates had already been appointed.
• Asked about the status of text-based negotiations and when they might happen, the Spokesperson noted that this was a very controversial topic for Member States, with some in favour of text-based negotiations and others opposed. It was not up to the President to take a stand on that matter. The Spokesperson added that there was no timeline for the reform process.
• Asked what the President’s goal was, with respect to Security Council reform, the Spokesperson said the goal was to ensure that the Council was as efficient, representative and credible as possible.

PRESIDENT REMAINS COMMITTED TO HIGHEST LEVELS OF ETHICS & TRANSPARENCY

• Asked about business dealings that were conducted by a previous President of the General Assembly, the Spokesperson said he only spoke for the current President. Regarding the current President, he had been holding himself and his office to the highest possible levels of ethics and transparency.
• The President had submitted his financial disclosure form ahead of the required deadline to the United Nations Ethics Office, which had sent it to an external reviewer. The Spokesperson said that, as far as he knew, the form was still with the reviewer. Asked why it was taking so long to review the form, the Spokesperson said that was a question for the reviewer. For his part, the President had done everything that had been asked of him.