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Thank you, President. I join others in thanking the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly for opening our discussion on this issue.
The UK has long supported multilateralism and remains deeply committed to it today.
We take seriously our role in strengthening the multilateral system and supporting the rules-based international order.
This is more important than ever. Today, as we have heard, we face extraordinary, complex and interconnected challenges.
These include the global threat posed by climate change and the alarming violations of human rights that disproportionately affect women and girls.
With Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, we have seen a permanent member of the Security Council violate the UN Charter and violate the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
To address these challenges, the UN and the Security Council as a whole must continue to take decisive action.
However, the world today is very different from the world that gave birth to the UN in 1945. It is therefore appropriate that we consider how the UN and the multilateral system should evolve.
The Security Council, as others have said, should be more representative of the world today and the UK has long called for its expansion, in both permanent and temporary categories.
As the UK Foreign Secretary reiterated publicly this week, we support new permanent seats and permanent African representation for Brazil, Germany, India and Japan.
We also look forward to the resumption of the General Assembly’s intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, and hope to see this progress in the text in the new year.
Outside the Security Council, the UK welcomes the Secretary-General’s efforts to advance comprehensive UN reform.
We strongly support his reform agenda and vision for a UN 2.0 better adapted to the challenges of the twenty-first century.
We also welcome the Secretary-General’s report on ‘Our Common Agenda’, which seeks to turbocharge delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. As we know, these have been set back by pandemics and global energy and food crises.
The new Agenda for Peace, in particular, will set new ambitions for the UN’s response to international peace and security, and we welcome the further detail set out by the Secretary-General today.
Through better use of data, analysis, innovation and strategic foresight, we can unlock the full potential of the UN. Along with this the focus must be on results.
In addition, we support reform efforts with international financial institutions and appreciate the momentum created by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Her Excellency Mia Mottley.
The UK is pushing many of the objectives of the Bridgetown Agenda, including greater financial provision, the G20’s capital adequacy framework review and climate change financing.
In closing, Madam President, I quote from the Secretary of State’s speech this week, we all benefit from the wisdom and compassion of leaders who have created laws and institutions that prevent a return to the old order where the weak prey on the strong.
So in conclusion, Madam President, we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that the UN and the multilateral system as a whole are best positioned to meet the complex challenges of today’s world.
I thank you for convening today’s debate.
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