Statement by H.E. Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti

 Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations

Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Related Matters

New York, 8 November 2011

Mr. President,

Security Council reform is high on the agenda of the General Assembly.

During the General Debate, last September, over 100 Member States mentioned in their statements the need for the United Nations to adapt to new political realities and embrace reform, including enlargement of the Security Council. This is an important indication that the issue needs to be taken as a matter of urgency.

There is no doubt that Member States converge on the need for the Security Council to be brought in line with today’s political realities and thus become more representative, legitimate, efficient and effective.

The majority view is that expansion in both permanent and non-permanent seats is a necessary step in this direction. 

The current permanent members are limited to those existing by the end of the Second World War. If we are serious about bringing the Security Council into the 21st century, this state of affairs must be changed. Any other option would leave the status quo untouched and have an undesired impact in the long-term legitimacy and credibility of the body responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. 

In the same vein, for the Security Council to reflect the dramatic expansion of the UN membership since 1945, more non-permanent seats are needed, in particular for developing countries. 

Mr. President,

Since earlier this year, we have been reaching out to other Member States to discuss the idea of a draft resolution, in order to open a door for genuine reform and generate momentum for real negotiations to start. 

The proposal was concise and straightforward. It was a constructive attempt to complement and facilitate the ongoing process of intergovernmental negotiations, launched by General Assembly Decision 62/557 of 15 September 2008.

From the very beginning, this initiative sought to respond to the call of the Facilitator, who rightly pointed out that Member States should take the lead and engage in consultations to inject dynamism into the process. 

We were encouraged by the response received from the membership. This initiative has garnered cross-regional support, including over 80 written expressions of support, in addition to a substantial number of strong verbal commitments, reaching well above one hundred countries. No other proposal on the table has been able to amass such numbers so far. 

This fact demonstrates quite clearly that a wide coalition of Member States is willing to stand behind expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories and improvement of its working methods. 

In our assessment, should this draft resolution be tabled and put to a vote, many more countries would join this collective endeavour to move the process forward.

This is why we believe that such strong support for the initiative should be considered as the basis for further discussion in the intergovernmental negotiations, which have our full support. 

If Member States keep their focus on this common goal, we can quickly move to the next stage, discuss the remaining issues and achieve a successful reform without further delay. 

We welcome your decision, Mr. President, to reappoint H. E. Ambassador Zahir Tanin, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan, as Chair of the intergovernmental negotiations. We look forward to working constructively with him in the months ahead.

Brazil will remain engaged and work closely in consultation with other delegations, with a view to creating an enabling environment for a concrete outcome in this Session of the General Assembly.

Thank you.