L.69 group of nations commit to instilling ‘new life’ in efforts towards achieving UNSC reform

New York,(PTI) The L.69 group of countries from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific have committed to instilling “new life” in their efforts towards achieving reform of the UN Security Council.

The grouping also underlined that lack of progress in the process has serious implications not only for the continued relevance of global governance institutions but also for world peace and security.

A high-level meeting of members of the L.69 group and other invited like-minded countries on ‘Reinvigorating Multilateralism and Achieving Comprehensive Reform of the UN Security Council’ was held here Friday on the margins of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister of St. Vincent and Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves and co-hosted by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

In a joint statement, the group reaffirmed that adapting the United Nations to the contemporary world realities necessarily requires “urgent and comprehensive” reform of the Security Council, the principal organ for international peace and security.

The L69 group reiterated that an expansion of the security council in both permanent and non-permanent categories, as well as reform in its working methods, is “indispensable” in making it more representative, legitimate and effective.

“We commit to instilling a new life in our efforts during the 77th session of the General Assembly and urgently call on all members states of the United Nations to join hands to achieve a comprehensive reform of the Security Council,” the group said in a statement adding they affirm their commitment to making concrete progress on UNSC, including through a reenergized intergovernmental process.

“We further recognise that lack of progress in security council reform has serious implications, not only for the continued relevance of global governance institutions but also for global peace and security and delivering on the purposes, principles and promises of the United Nations Charter,” the statement said.

Noting that world leaders are gathering for the high-level UN General Assembly at a time when the world faces increasingly complex and interconnected global challenges, the group said it recognizes that a resilient world urgently needs reformed and effective multilateralism to deliver solutions for the pressing and evolving challenges of its time, developmental challenges, poverty, climate change, pandemics, global food security, international conflicts and crises, and international terrorism.

Emphasising that a legitimate security council must be reflective of the aspirations and perspectives of the developing world, which form the majority of the UN’s membership, the group noted that a reformed Security Council must better reflect the contemporary UN membership, including through enhanced representation of Small Island Developing States, which comprise approximately 20 per cent of the membership.

The group also reaffirmed its support for the representation of Africa in line with the Common African Position, as contained in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.

It stressed the need for a formal negotiation process, guided by the decision-making modalities and working methods laid out in the Charter of the United Nations and in line with the rules and procedures of the General Assembly.

The meeting commemorated the 15th anniversary of the founding of L.69 group of pro-reform member states, including primarily developing countries from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, all united by a common desire to achieve a comprehensive reform of the Security Council and, ultimately, strengthen multilateralism.

The L.69 Group, presently chaired by St. Vincent and Grenadines, includes the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Brazil, Bolivia, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Liberia, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. PTI