Singapore calls for UN reform

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's Address to the UN Security Council.

“The United Nations is at a turning point. We need to reform multilateral and UN institutions to address current and future challenges, including the reform of this Security Council itself,” said Singapore's Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan at the open debate at UN Headquarters. “All permanent members should focus on the broader goal of ensuring international peace and security. However, the rising trend of veto exercise suggests that we cannot leave it to the five permanent members to voluntarily change their behavior. The UN as a whole must agree on how the veto should be exercised in the future, and Singapore is ready to discuss this further at the General Assembly. The approach is not to encroach on the mandate of the Council, but to avoid actions that prevent this Council from fulfilling its mandate,” he added. The reference is probably to the cross vetoes placed on some resolutions regarding the war in Ukraine and ii bombing of Gaza. “The role of the elected members of the Security Council needs to be strengthened,” Balakrishnan said. “We saw how the 10 elected members bridged the gaps when the permanent five were instead mired in mutual distrust and paralysis. Given the powerful bridging role of the elected 10, the elected members should have more say in the decision-making process, and they should be empowered to lead or read key issues together, particularly with regard to their respective regions. The Security Council also needs to do more to prevent conflict. It should work more closely and effectively with the other main organs of the UN to facilitate early warning and response. Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which allows the Secretary-General to bring to the attention any issue that in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of peace and security, is in fact a powerful tool of preventive diplomacy. I am pleased that the Pact for the Future made reference to it. However, this Council needs to react more quickly with a concrete response when the Secretary-General invokes Article 99, particularly for humanitarian disasters and mass atrocities,” concluded Singapore's Foreign Minister.