{"id":290336,"date":"2025-11-18T10:20:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T15:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/?p=290336"},"modified":"2026-01-14T16:13:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T21:13:33","slug":"pga-remarks-at-the-plenary-meeting-on-the-question-of-equitable-representation-on-and-increase-in-the-membership-of-the-security-council-and-other-matters-related-to-the-security-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/2025\/11\/18\/pga-remarks-at-the-plenary-meeting-on-the-question-of-equitable-representation-on-and-increase-in-the-membership-of-the-security-council-and-other-matters-related-to-the-security-council\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA Remarks at the Plenary Meeting on the Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remarks by the President of the General Assembly\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock<\/strong><\/p>\n

at the <\/strong>Plenary Meeting on the Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council<\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/strong>8 November 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

[As <\/strong>delivered<\/strong>]<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If there is any year in which we must build on the momentum of past sessions with renewed urgency, it is this one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not only does this 80th<\/sup> session mark the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations, it also marks the first anniversary of the Pact for the Future, which was adopted by the General Assembly by consensus during the seventy-ninth session.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And it comes at a time when our Organization is undertaking a process of renewal to better meet today\u2019s challenges, including through the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 initiative.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As I have said repeatedly, this 80th<\/sup> anniversary is not only a moment for celebration; it is a moment of reflection, action and leadership \u2013 to make this Organization, our United Nations, fit for the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The membership has been clear about its different priorities in this regard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During High-Level Week, over one hundred world leaders specifically referred to the need for Security Council reform, among other reform steps.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In doing so, their calls complemented the vision set out in the Pact for the Future, which reiterates the urgent need to make the Council more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic, and accountable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This included calls to enlarge the Security Council so that it is more representative of the current United Nations membership and reflective of the realities of the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In line with the Pact\u2019s call to accelerate progress on Security Council reform, I appointed two co-chairs early in the session to advance efforts on this priority track.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I thank Her Excellency Lise Gregoire-van Haaren, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and His Excellency Tareq Albanai, Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait, for their leadership and commitment as co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And I encourage them after seventeen years of reform discussions to use the momentum to explore and take the next steps, not only in light of the calls of Heads of State and Government during High-Level Week but also in light of the discussions I have had with you in the last weeks and months as many approached me on this matter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Member States are those in whose hands the reform process lies, and I would like to reiterate the call in the Pact for the Future which encouraged delegations to submit further models of Security Council reform, as well as to review and refine existing proposals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The goal must be to develop a consolidated model that builds upon convergences across the five clusters, relating to:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.The relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Size of an enlarged Security Council and the Working Methods of the Council.<\/li>\n
  2. Categories of membership.<\/li>\n
  3. The question of the veto.<\/li>\n
  4. Regional representation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    We need to ask, are there areas within these clusters where groups could offer greater clarity, or demonstrate flexibility, to move discussions forward and find common ground?<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    This is also the moment today, to discuss these different questions.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    This moment, with the 80th<\/sup> anniversary, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 Initiative and quite strong headwinds, is the moment when the world looks to the United Nations to renew faith in multilateralism; we must show that progress is possible.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The Security Council, as one of its most important and most well-known organs, cannot be left out of this reform process, especially as it so often finds itself paralyzed. This lends to the misconception that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ as a whole is unable to respond to today\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    As we advance the broader Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 reform process, ensuring that the Council overcomes its blockages and better reflects today\u2019s membership is one of the most critical parts of reform, as many Member States have underlined.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Yet, we know we are not living in a world where change can happen in a matter of days. And it will be difficult to achieve during the 80th session what hasn\u2019t been agreed in the last 17 years, especially as the lines of division feel deeper than ever before.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Nonetheless making steady and real progress is important, particularly as there exists broad agreement among Member States on the importance of this process and on the principles that guide it, as reflected in the Pact for the Future.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    To not make progress \u2013 to miss the opportunity afforded by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 Initiative and Security Council reform \u2013 would be to jeopardize the credibility of the United Nations as such.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Reform demands not only persistence but creativity; not only conviction but compromise.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Let this eightieth session be remembered as the moment when we moved forward, from reflection to resolve, from promises to action, and from discussions to tangible progress \u2013 to show that we are also, in this regard, indeed \u2018Better Together\u2019.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    I thank you<\/p>\n

    ****<\/p>\n

    United Nations<\/strong><\/p>\n

    New York,\u00a0US<\/p>\n