Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at the UN Security Council Open Debate, 25 September 2024

Mdm President,

Members of the Security Council,

                The world is in an acutely dangerous phase and civilians in multiple trouble-spots are paying a terrible price. And so, the United Nations is at an inflection point. We need to reform multilateral and UN institutions to address both current and future challenges, including reform of this very Security Council.

2              First, we must constrain the exercise of the veto. All Permanent Members should focus on the broader goal of delivering international peace and security. However, the trend of the increasing exercise of the vetoes suggests we cannot leave this to the P5 (Permanent Five) to voluntarily change their behaviour. The wider UN membership must reach agreement on how the veto is exercised in the future and Singapore stands ready to discuss this further at the General Assembly. The approach is not to encroach on the Council’s mandate, but to guard against actions that prevent this Council from fulfilling its mandate.

3              Second, the Council must do more to prevent conflicts. The Council should work more closely and effectively with the other main organs of the UN to facilitate both early warning and response. Article 99 of the UN Charter is in fact a powerful preventive diplomacy tool.^[1] I am glad that the Pact for the Future alluded to this. However, this Council needs to react more quickly with a concrete response when the Secretary-General invokes Article 99, particularly for humanitarian catastrophes and mass atrocities.

4              Third, we need to strengthen the role of Elected Members of this Council. We have seen how the E10 (Elected Ten) bridges gaps when the P5 were instead mired in mutual distrust and paralysis. Given the powerful bridging role of the E10, Elected Members should have a greater say in penholdership and decision-making, and be allowed to lead or co-lead on key issues, particularly concerning their respective regions.

5              Thank you, Mdm President.

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[1]          Article 99 states that “[t]he Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”.