By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – India Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday said that G4 Foreign Ministers met on the sidelines of the UNGA session in New York to discuss the prospects for reforms of the UN Security Council.
India, Brazil, Germany and Japan have emphasized that after increasing instability in the international order, it is crucial to reform the Security Council at the earliest.
Jaishankar and his counterparts from the G4 countries, Mauro Vieira of Brazil, Johann Wadephul of Germany, and Iwaya Takeshi of Japan, held discussions to review the progress and discuss prospects for reform of the UN Security Council.
“The Foreign Ministers of the G4 countries- Mauro Vieira, Foreign Minister of Brazil; Johann Wadephul, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany; S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India and Iwaya Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, assessed the state of play and discuss prospects for reform of the UN Security Council,” G4 Ministerial Joint Statement said.
“A comprehensive reform of the Security Council is in the best interest of all. The G4 Ministers reaffirmed the willingness and capability of the G4 countries, as democracies sharing common political values including respect for the rule of law, full adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and commitment to multilateralism, to shoulder the Security Council’s primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
The G4 Ministers also reiterated their mutual support for each other’s candidacies as new permanent members of a reformed Security Council,” the Joint Statement said.
They emphasized that, amid increasing instability in the international order and with the UN–the centre of multilateralism, increasingly incapable of fulfilling its role–it is crucial to reform the Security Council at the earliest to truly reflect the contemporary geopolitical realities, thereby enhancing its representativeness, legitimacy, effectiveness, and efficiency, it said.
G4 Ministers underscored that the expansion of the UN Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership is essential to Security Council reform, and that this position is supported by a majority of Member States.
Foreign Ministers concurred on the need to enhance the role and participation of developing countries, and those significantly contributing to international peace and security, in the Security Council, in both membership categories.
They reiterated the importance of improving the representation of the underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups, such as Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, in both membership categories. The G4 Ministers reaffirmed their strong support for the Common African Position as enshrined in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
In the G4 ministerial joint statement highlighted how a comprehensive reform of the Security Council is in the best interest of all.
G4 Ministers reaffirmed the willingness and capability of the G4 countries, as democracies sharing common political values including respect for the rule of law, full adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and commitment to multilateralism, to shoulder the Security Council’s primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
They reiterated their mutual support for each other’s candidacies as new permanent members of a reformed Security Council.
G4 Foreign Ministers reviewed the work of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, as they appreciated that presentation of models by Member States and groups continued from the previous session.
The statement noted that the G4 Ministers reiterated their strong concern over the continued absence of concrete progress on UNSC reform in the Intergovernmental Negotiations format.
