NEW YORK - H.E. Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, has been reappointed to lead deliberations on how to reform the UN Security Council. The President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, announced the reappointment of Ambassador Nusseibeh as Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council Reform (IGN) while also appointing as Co-Chair H.E. Joanna Wronecka, Permanent Representative of Poland to the UN, on 4 December 2019.

“I am honored and humbled by the trust displayed by the President of the General Assembly and the UN membership in reappointing me for the third time as Co-Chair of this process,” Ambassador Nusseibeh said. “For several years now, there has been a well-acknowledged recognition among UN Member States that the composition of the Security Council is out of date and does not reflect current geopolitical realities. In fact, due to the centrality of the work of the Security Council and the fact that Security Council reform touches upon national strategic interests, the membership has been grappling with it for more than two decades. Assuming this position comes with considerable pressure, but I am honored that the UAE Mission to the UN in New York and I can help further the image of the UAE as a bridge-builder and a successful facilitator of dialogue in the multilateral space. This is a process that is vital for the future of the UN and multilateralism.”

Ambassador Nusseibeh previously served as Co-Chair of the IGN process during the 72nd and 73rd sessions of the UN General Assembly with the Ambassadors of Georgia and Luxembourg, respectively.

“Over the last two years we made significant progress in particular by consolidating much of the work that has been done on reform in previous years into one single document. The annual decision of the General Assembly acknowledges this work and serves as the reference point for our work going forward in the upcoming year. We also worked with the membership on the working methods of the Council, which would help advance transparency and efficiency in a reformed Council,” Ambassador Nusseibeh said. “I look forward to working with Ambassador Wronecka of Poland in 2020 in co-chairing the discussions on reform. Her country will be finishing its two-year non-permanent term on the Security Council and will therefore bring important new insights to the discussions. We also hope that the UN’s upcoming 75th anniversary in 2020 will give renewed momentum to our discussions.”

Established in 2008, the Intergovernmental Negotiations on reform of the Security Council focuses on five key issues: categories of membership, the question of the veto, regional representation, the size of an enlarged Security Council and its working methods, and the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly.

The formal discussions will begin in early 2020.