IBSA – India, Brazil, South Africa Dialogue Forum Joint Ministerial Statement on Reform of the UN Security Council

Published in Sep 16, 2020 10:55 PM Updated in Nov 27, 2020 12:08 PM

We, the International Relations and Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa are bound by the guiding principles of the United Nations Charter and our shared values of sovereignty, freedom, rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy. As the United Nations commemorates its 75^th anniversary, we emphasize the need for the international community to redouble efforts and bolster commitment to achieve tangible progress to an accelerated and comprehensive reform of the Security Council.
Standing united in achieving a more inclusive, responsive and participatory international governance architecture, we recall the IBSA Joint Ministerial Statement of 26 September 2019, calling for the reform of the multilateral system. Consistent with our joint call, we reaffirm our commitment to enhance the voice and representation of emerging and developing countries in the decision-making bodies of multilateral institutions to better reflect contemporary realities.
In light of the increasingly complex and inter-connected international challenges, we emphasize that the existing international governance structure is obsolete and cannot be fit-for-purpose to effectively address current peace and security challenges.
Emphasizing that while a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system remains a crucial international undertaking, on which there has been some progress, we reiterate that advancing the reform of the Security Council should remain an urgent and key priority.
The failure to reform the Security Council has serious implications for international peace and security. Significant and accelerated reform is critical to ensure that this organ is more representative, effective and responsive, and remains capable of delivering on the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
We renew our commitment to work for the expansion of Security Council membership to include representation from emerging and developing countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa, in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, for achieving a representative, inclusive, equitable, responsive and effective UN Security Council. The legitimacy of the Security Council rests on whether its composition is equitable and reflective of the aspirations and perspectives of the UN’s membership.
Acknowledging that Africa must be equitably represented in a reformed Security Council, we reiterate our support for representation of Africa in the Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories and express our unequivocal support for the Common African Position, as stated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
Expressing frustration with the slow pace of progress on Security Council reforms in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations process, which lacks transparency in its working methods, we insist that the time has come to move towards a result-oriented process, with provision for substantive negotiations based on a single comprehensive text, in a formal setting.
We welcome, inter-alia, the cooperation between the United Nations and IBSA countries, as well as with regional organizations and institutions, such as the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), in the promotion of international peace and security.
Brazil and South Africa congratulate India on its successful election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2021-2022. As an IBSA member, India will be a strong voice in the Council and will continue to be a defender of a rules-based system in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Brazil thanks India and South Africa for their support for the Brazilian candidature as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2022-2023.
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