Plenary

STATEMENT BY MS KOK LI PENG, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE PLENARY DEBATE ON THE REPORT OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL AND THE QUESTION OF EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION ON AND INCREASE IN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE COUNCIL AND RELATED MATTERS, 11 NOVEMBER 2010

Mr President,

1 My delegation joins the debate today slightly encouraged by what we have seen in the latest annual report of the Security Council. It provides a good overview of the scope and volume of issues tackled by the Council this past year and a few other improvements, in particular, the incorporation of material that reflects the substance of the Council's work. As a member of the S5 group, we also appreciate the addition of a section on working methods under thematic considerations, as opposed to parking the issue under the "other matters" section in previous reports. We hope this arrangement will hold for future reports.

2 We applaud the evolving practice by the Council to consult Member States before the drafting of its report, which was first introduced by Vietnam, subsequently adopted by Uganda and continued by Nigeria. Such best practices inspire confidence in the Council, and builds trust between the Council and the General Assembly. We believe that the next logical step in this process would be for the author of the annual report to hold an informal session with Member States once the report has been completed and discuss, inter alia, issues, challenges and questions that came up during the preparation of the report. As Singapore has said before, the intention is not to find fault, but to let Member States gain a deeper understanding of the workings of the Council and engender buy-in for the Council's actions.

3 More interaction between the Council and Member States can also help to clarify the type of analysis that that Member States have repeatedly called for in each year's report. Given the tremendous level of resources channelled to the Council, whether by fiat or by choice, there is insufficient reciprocity by its members in terms of transparency and effectiveness. It is not enough for the Council President of the month to share its reflections on the year's efforts. There must be concrete procedures installed for the Council to account for its discharge of the solemn responsibilities entrusted under the Charter.

4 As Singapore believes that interaction promotes effectiveness in Council work, we would like to commend the UK's efforts to promote forward-looking and interactive discussions in the Council, through, inter alia, its "horizon scanning" event with the Department of Political Affairs. The regular monthly open debates are also valuable opportunities for candid discussions between Council members and Member States. But we should be mindful of the particular character of Council work, which is crisis-plagued and bound by strict deadlines. To have useful exchanges, we can do no worse than to heed George Washington, who said: "Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive." Hence we should set aside the rituals of prepared speeches and set proceedings in favour of greater spontaneity and interactivity, as genuine discussions of good quality can enrich the Council's deliberations and outcomes.

5 On the broader issue of the Council's working methods, we have seen some progress in recent years, though more can clearly be done. For instance, Singapore, along with the S5, was pleased to see the recent updating of Presidential Note 507. However, we remain concerned about the lack of a follow-up implementation mechanism. We would like to reiterate the suggestions outlined in the S5's earlier statement on improving the comprehensiveness and implementation of Presidential Note 507. It would also be helpful to expand the annual report's section on Note 507 to include some assessment of its progress.

6 I recall my delegation lamenting in 2008 that we were dancing around the same spot on Council reform. Fortunately, there has been a little progress since then. We will soon embark on the sixth round of inter-governmental negotiations, with a compilation text in hand. However, there is little headway made in streamlining text, let alone embarking on substantive text-based negotiations. As we resume the negotiations, we hope that Member States will demonstrate greater willingness to find common ground. In this connection, we offer our full support to Ambassador Zahir Tanin in his continued facilitation of this process.

Mr President,

7 The election of India, Germany and South Africa has generated great anticipation of how the Council will perform next year. Many of us will be looking to see how the Council acts to bring about greater efficiency in the way it works, how it will further enhance its interactions with Member States and how it will discharge its Charter responsibilities. Some optimistic delegations also harbour hope for the stalemate in Council reform to be eased. What is important, both in terms of efforts to improve the Council's effectiveness and Member States' efforts in the intergovernmental negotiations, is to nurse the momentum so painstakingly generated and find the political will to take the reforms forward. To paraphrase the words of a wise man, Mahatma Gandhi, we should be the change that we want to see in the world.

8 Thank you.

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