Statement

by

H.E. Mr. Gábor Bródi

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Hungary to

the United Nations

in the joint debate of the General Assembly on the report

of the Security Council

and the question of Security Council reform

(New York, November 13, 2007)

Mr. President,

Allow me first of all to thank you for convening this meeting for a joint debate on the annual report of the Security Council to the General Assembly and on the issue of Security Council reform.

I also thank the Permanent Representative of Indonesia, President of the Security Council for the month of November, for his presentation of the Security Council’s report, document A/62/2, yesterday morning. We believe that the report is an important instrument in the dialogue among the general membership on the work of the Security Council. It reflects strikingly the huge workload of the Council, and the wide scope of the issues it has to tackle in discharging its mandate. A number of Member States, however, expressed the view that the report could be improved and made more relevant, which in our view shows the need for finding other, complementary means of interaction between the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Mr. President,

The comprehensive reform of the Security Council constitutes one of the most important elements of the overall reform of the United Nations. Without it, there cannot be a meaningful reform of our organization. On this point, Member States are in agreement.

During the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, many creative and useful proposals and ideas had emerged regarding Security Council reform, but substantive progress once again proved to be elusive. The consultations and deliberations in the “Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council” – which have been going on for more than a decade – have resulted in a clear picture with regards to the positions of Member States. In our view, a mere continuation of these discussions in the same format would be a waste of resources and time. We must take the process a step further.

The time has come to start structured, result-oriented intergovernmental negotiations, on the basis of a flexible and creative mandate that takes into account all the views expressed by Member States. The efforts of the former President of the General Assembly and the reports that resulted from her initiatives should be followed-up during the current session of the General Assembly. Member States should try to come to an agreement on an effective framework for negotiations. We have no doubt that an agreement on such a framework will require creativity, flexibility and political will on the part of Member States.

We agree with you, Mr. President, that in identifying the negotiables, we ought to be guided by the last report of the Open-ended Working Group. We also agree that this process is the primary responsibility of Member States.

To sum up, Hungary believes that comprehensive intergovernmental negotiations, which tackle both the issue of expansion and the improvement of the working methods of the Security Council, and are based on a transparent and flexible mandate defined by the General Assembly, offer the best way forward at this stage.

Mr. President,

Hungary hopes that under your leadership, the sixty-second session of the General Assembly will produce a breakthrough in finding an acceptable way forward on Security Council reform. We pledge our support for your efforts to achieve this goal!

Thank you, Mr. President!