Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the security council and other matters related to the security council

Statement by Ambassador Marc-André Blanchard, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations

New York, November 7^th, 2016

Mr. President,

Canada aligns itself with the statement delivered by Italy on behalf of Uniting for Consensus.  We wish to make a few additional points in our national capacity.

• Canada is firmly committed to reform of the Security Council, and agrees that it is long overdue.
• We are ready to work with all member states to reach a consensus outcome that transforms the Council into a more democratic, representative, effective, transparent and accountable body.
• To this end we have three points to make.

• First, Canada strongly believes that the effectiveness of the Council should be the overriding objective in the reform process.
• In this respect we need to address honestly the issue of the veto and how it is applied.  We have all witnessed recent uses of the veto in ways that damage the reputation, and infringe upon the effectiveness, of the United Nations Security Council.  [To be frank, Syrian civilians live, and die, with the consequences of Russia’s misuse of the veto].
• Clearly there is broad support for a Security Council that can play its role as envisaged in the Charter, and that does not abuse the veto power.
• Canada supports the ACT Code of Conduct and the France-Mexico Political Declaration.  Both offer important opportunities in the context of a reformed and strengthened UNSC that is able to address global crises, especially in obvious cases of mass violations of human rights, deliberate attacks on civilians, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
• Second, on the issue of representativeness Canada strongly believes in expanding the number of non-Permanent seats on the UN Security Council.  In doing so we need to be mindful of the historic under-representation of Africa and Small Island and Developing States.
• Increasing the number of non-permanent seats would ensure a broader representation of the world’s regions and add to the Council’s legitimacy.
• Third on the issues of democracy, transparency and accountability, Canada firmly believes that the discipline of regular elections is the essential mechanism for ensuring Council accountability before the General Assembly.
• It is also based on the conviction that there are ways of making the Council more representative without conferring special rights on a few Member States.

Mr. President,

• After many years of dialogue, there is a window of opportunity to achieve consensus on Security Council reform.
• You can count on our support as a constructive partner in advancing this goal.

Thank you.