Delivered by: His Excellency Mohamed Abushahab, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative

Madam President,

 I wish to congratulate Japan on its assumption of the Presidency of the Security Council this month and thank Guyana for their efforts and professionalism during their Presidency last month. I would also like to thank Japan for organizing this important open debate.

This meeting presents a timely opportunity to reflect on how the working methods and structure of this Council affects its mandate to maintain international peace and security at a time of particular strain.

The United Arab Emirates recently completed its Security Council term, a term which saw 10 vetoes – the largest number over any two-year period since the 1988-1989 term.

The increasing failure of the Security Council to deliver on critical issues underscores why the General Assembly must engage in serious discussions on its meaningful reform. In particular, we must redouble our efforts to address the use of the veto, as well as the significant underrepresentation of Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and Arab members on the Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories.

As the General Assembly continues to grapple with these issues, the Security Council remains the master of its procedure and practices. I wish to highlight four areas where the Council’s working methods can be further improved.

First, on penholdership, progress has been made, with an increase in E10 members holding or sharing the pen. To consolidate these gains, Brazil and the UAE convened E10 workshops over the last two years to share lessons learned from holding the pen as part of a broader E10 initiative on penholdership. That effort led to the adoption, last year, of a Presidential Note on this topic. The note encourages fair burden-sharing and recognizes the value added by regional perspectives and the chairing of relevant subsidiary bodies.

My second point is about making resolutions more implementable. The Council should aim to adopt shorter resolutions with clearer language, taking into account the spectrum of capacity of states to implement them. The Council should also more systematically ensure that new legal obligations are explained to the entire membership.

This leads me to my third point, on sanctions. The UAE supports the establishment of an informal grouping within the Council to discuss working methods of sanctions committees and related issues.

Finally, there is an omission in Note 507 and subsequent notes in relation to gender mainstreaming. The UAE supports the adoption of a Presidential Note on prioritizing the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of its work.

Before closing, I’d like to commend Japan and the Security Council Affairs Division for their work in launching the Interactive Handbook on the Working Methods of the Security Council. As the Informal Working Group engages on the revision of Note 507 and subsequent notes, I underscore the importance of retaining and integrating all notes adopted since 2017 while updating and strengthening Note 507 overall. Thank you, Madam President.