Advancing efforts to reform the UN Security Council
On 14 September 2015, right before the end of its 69th session, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, without a vote, a decision to advance efforts to reform the Security Council into its (ongoing) 70th session (Document A/69/L.92).
This decision, proposed by the Assembly President Sam Kutesa (Uganda), reaffirmed first and foremost the Assembly’s central role in reforming the Council. As a consequence, it decided to immediately continue intergovernmental negotiations on Council reform in informal plenary sessions, on the basis of the positions and proposals reflected in the text and annex of a 31 July 2015 letter circulated by the Assembly President. Thus, for the first time in the long-pending process of Security Council reform, a text referenced in a decision by the General Assembly enables member States to engage in substantive discussions on reform.
Moreover, the Assembly decided it would convene 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” during the 70th session, if member states so decide.
In explanation of position, several delegates expressed their state’s views on the decision, with some defining it as a "landmark" step forward, and others viewing it as technical, but not substantive progress. States’ positions have been also reaffirmed during the annual debate on the Security Council reform, that General Assembly held on 30th October 2015.
Sources and additional information:
UN meetings coverage and press releases – 14 September 2015
UN meetings coverage and press releases – 30 October 2015
Intergovernmental Negotiation on Security Council Reform (31 July) / ANNEX 1 / ANNEX 2
Center for UN Reform Education - Security Council Reform: Current Session of the General Assembly