“Let me start by expressing my gratitude to Ambassador Tareq Albania of Kuwait and Ambassador Michal Mlynár of Slovakia for organizing today’s meeting and presiding over this crucial and challenging procedure. The past year’s events have demonstrated how difficult it may be for the Security Council to carry out its primary duty of upholding international peace and security when a Permanent Member holds the veto, according to Mitch Fifield, ambassador and permanent representative of Australia to the UN.
“Australia was happy to support the veto initiative’s unanimous adoption, which showed the membership’s enthusiasm for reform. However, there are other urgent reforms needed. We hope this IGN session will successfully harness this urgency and current enthusiasm in favour of a reformed UNSC and translate it into actual progress”.
We’re here once more to talk about the topic of regional participation in the new Security Council.
We come here once more to reiterate our shared desire to create a body that more accurately reflects and portrays the world of the 21st century than the mid-20th century.
Like the majority of Member States in this Assembly, Australia believes that a Security Council that can gain from the perspectives of a more significant percentage of the global population and its dynamic areas is very valuable.
By 2050, a quarter of the world’s population will be expected to reside in Africa. It has much to offer in addressing current issues, including security, climate change, green energy, and maintaining the rules-based international order.
Latin America has a long history of participation in the multilateral system and is a developing, vibrant continent. Latin America can significantly contribute to global debates and efforts to address climate change, energy, food supply, and security issues.
Asia is a component of the vibrant Indo-Pacific area, including Australia.
To properly reflect the geopolitical realities in the Indo-Pacific, Australia has stated its support for India and Japan having permanent seats on the Council.
Australia will continue to pay close attention to these crucial debates.
I also restate our call at the Plenary Meeting in November as we start this process in 2023. We must switch to text-based discussions to realize the Member States’ goals for genuine reform.
