S/PV.6795 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2012/501, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by France, Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2055 (2012). I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

Guatemala appreciates the work of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) and its Group of Experts. We believe that they have done important and useful work since their establishment to promote the heightened efforts of the international community to combat the dangers and threats posed by nuclear proliferation. We consider it important that such efforts continue. We also value the role played by the Group of Experts of the 1540 Committee. Without the support provided by the experts to Member States, and to developing countries in particular, it would be difficult for many to establish plans of action, present national reports and make progress on the measures necessary to comply with the provisions of resolution 1540 (2004). We believe that it is necessary to respect the criteria for selecting the experts, as established under resolution 1977 (2011), as they meet the legitimate interests of the international community to have at its disposal, in addition to the most qualified people, a group that is diverse and reflects a balance of representation among its members. The criteria on which the selection of experts is based are an important factor for ensuring that the 1540 Committee maintains its legitimacy. In that regard, we should have preferred the criteria to be respected in the selection of the members of the Group of Experts referred to in resolution 2055 (2012), which we have just adopted, without additional budgetary implications beyond those already foreseen. It was only on the basis of our desire not to see the work of the 1540 Committee affected that we joined the consensus on this occasion, despite our reservations concerning the final composition of the Group of Experts.

There are no further speakers inscribed on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.