S/PV.6641 Security Council

As President of the Security Council for the month of July 2011, Germany was responsible for the preparation of the introduction of the draft annual report of the Security Council to the General Assembly. The draft report contains a comprehensive account of all meetings and activities of the Council, as well as of the wide range of thematic areas covered during the reporting period. It is our hope that the draft report also reflects the fact that the Council exercises its mandate with diligence and responsibility in the face of the many challenging issues it had before it during the reporting period. During the drafting process, we relied mainly on the monthly assessments and the views expressed by all Council members. In order to ensure that it accurately and adequately reflected the Council’s work, activities and outcomes, the draft report was revised several times following comments and proposals made by Council members. Throughout this process, States that were members of the Security Council during the reporting period had the opportunity to review and reach agreement on the draft report prior to this meeting. I would therefore like to express my appreciation and gratitude to all present and former Council members for their cooperation and input, as well as for the cordial and cooperative atmosphere that prevailed throughout the drafting phase. In preparing for the compilation of the draft report, we built on the good practice — established by Viet Nam in 2008 and continued by Uganda in 2009 and by your own delegation, Madame, in 2010 — of holding an informal meeting with the wider United Nations membership with a view to exchanging views on the upcoming draft report. That meeting, which was held on 29 June and co-chaired by Nigeria, Portugal and Germany, was extremely useful both for the input received and for fostering the working relationship between the Council and non-Council members. We therefore join our predecessors in expressing our hope for the continuation of this practice in the future. Non-Council members increasingly express a keen interest in being informed in a substantial manner about the work of the Security Council. We should all work to satisfy that legitimate interest in order to enhance the transparency and accessibility of the Security Council and its work. Finally, I would like to express our sincere thanks to the Secretariat for its invaluable support and assistance in compiling the draft report.

It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the adoption of its draft annual report. May I take it that the draft report is adopted by the Council? There being no objection, it is so decided. This decision will be reflected in a note by the President of the Security Council, to be issued as document S/2011/664. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.