S/PV.7505 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Armenia, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, Georgia, Haiti, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay and Viet Nam to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Nick Westcott, Managing Director for Africa of the European External Action Service of the European Union, and Mr. Adonia Ayebare, Adviser to the African Union Mission to the United Nations, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2015/599, which contains the text of a letter dated 5 August 2015 from the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a concept note on the item under consideration. I wish to warmly welcome Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to whom I now give the floor.

I welcome this opportunity to discuss regional organizations and contemporary global security challenges. I thank Ambassador Ogwu for Nigeria’s initiative to organize this very important meeting. I have always valued cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, which have gained greater influence in recent years. Today I will focus on how to strengthen partnerships so that we can improve our collective response to evolving threats. My message is simple: the United Nations increasingly shares responsibility for peace and security with regional organizations. We should do everything possible to help them resolve regional problems — and to include the States concerned in solutions. At the same time, regional organizations should continue contributing to United Nations peace and security efforts. We count on them for political leverage, as well as civilian and military capacities. Members of the Security Council are all too aware of the changing nature of conflict. Terrorism and the spread of violent extremism are destabilizing volatile regions. The stakes are high in any response. Urbanization, unemployment and population movements, including massive displacement, are increasing dramatically. Technological advances in warfare, including cyberthreats, pose grave dangers to civilians. Against that shifting security landscape, the United Nations is deploying into fragile and remote environments with little peace to keep. The Security Council has rightly given our Blue Helmets ambitious mandates to protect civilians, but too often we lack the proper equipment, resources and training for that life-saving mission. To close the gap, last year I called for a fresh review of peace operations. I am now analyzing the report of the High-level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (see S/2015/446). We are identifying the recommendations we can carry out immediately, and those that will require action by legislative bodies, Member States and partners. The Panel calls for a stronger global-regional partnership to ensure that the Council can draw on a more resilient and capable network of actors. In recent years, we have seen how practical cooperation among the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the European Union has enhanced progress in Africa. Now we need to build on this trilateral cooperation and boost our collective ability to manage, plan and execute peace operations. We should also be open to different forms of engagement with other organizations, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the League of Arab States, NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Panel recommends that we deepen the strategic United Nations-AU partnerships. I fully agree. Almost two thirds of our peace operations and nearly 90 per cent of our uniformed peacekeepers are deployed in Africa. I applaud the AU and the regional economic communities and regional mechanisms for significantly strengthening their capacities and for responding rapidly to emerging crises. In Mali, the Central African Republic and Somalia, the African Union has deployed robust operations in complex settings. That dangerous work carries a high price. I honour the courage of those AU troops who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. The best tribute is to establish lasting security where they served. The report calls for greater support to Security Council-authorized AU peace operations. The experts recommend that the United Nations enable regional organizations to share the burden, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Towards that end, I draw attention to the Panel’s call for more predictable financing, including through the use of United Nations- assessed contributions. There are other important forms of support. We are helping with planning processes, logistical packages, United Nations-managed trust funds and access to United Nations expertise, systems, materiel and services. The United Nations broad support for the AU and the Economic Community of West African States also includes political cooperation, which is difficult to quantify but still highly valuable. Strengthening conflict prevention and mediation saves lives. Our joint efforts have made a meaningful difference in defusing tensions and supporting the transition in Burkina Faso, encouraging political dialogue ahead of elections in Guinea, resolving the electoral crisis in Kenya and ending a political deadlock in Madagascar through a Southern African Development Community road map, among other engagements. Investing in prevention will spare the much higher human and financial costs of a crisis. Leaders must recognize that peace will prevent humanitarian tragedies and spur economic development. We should place high expectations on the countries concerned and help them to realize lasting stability. Our partnerships have brought valuable lessons. We have learned to manage transitions from regional operations to United Nations peacekeeping missions. We have provided a logistics support package to the African Union Mission in Somalia — the AU’ s largest peace operation. The United Nations Office to the AU is strengthening our impact. Now we must optimize our collaboration even more. We must continue working together to harmonize standards. That would improve the transition from AU operations to United Nations peacekeeping missions. More systematic coordination and consultation on policies, guidance and training standards would ensure coherence at all phases, from planning to drawdown. Human rights must always be at the forefront. The Panel rightly underscores the primacy of the United Nations Charter and other international human rights and humanitarian law instruments. United Nations support to regional partners is contingent on compliance with United Nations norms and standards, including the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy, the highest standards of conduct and discipline, the United Nations financial rules and regulations, as well as other legislated procedures. We are all accountable for what we do and how we do it. Our ultimate responsibility is to the peoples we serve. We have succeeded in dramatically enhancing our partnerships. We have come to rely on each other in critical times. We will continue to advance progress. The United Nations and regional organizations strive for a common approach to today’s challenges. Our views may diverge at times, but as long as we are committed to peace, security and human rights, we will stay on course to a more secure future.

I thank the Secretary-General for his statement. I now give the floor to the members of the Security Council.

China appreciates Nigeria’s initiative to convene today’s open debate on regional organizations and contemporary challenges of global security. I thank Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon for his presence at this meeting, and listened carefully to his briefing. The United Nations is at the heart of the international collective security mechanism. The Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Peace and development are the watchwords of our times, but our world is not yet at peace. Regional turbulence, terrorism, major epidemics, natural disasters and other non-traditional security issues continue to arise. All countries are becoming increasingly interdependent and share a common destiny. China supports the efforts of the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations to deepen cooperation in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations in consolidating and strengthening the international collective security mechanism as we strive to jointly maintain international peace and security. I should like to emphasize three points in that regard. First, we must be guided by and base our actions on the United Nations Charter. The United Nations should encourage and support regional organizations in resolving conflicts through dialogue, consultations, good offices and mediation, in defusing differences through peaceful means, and in contributing to the promotion of regional peace and security. The actions of relevant regional organizations should adhere to the principles and purposes of the Charter, in particular the principle of respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of States. Secondly, we must deploy our respective strengths in order to enhance complementarity and coordination. China supports regional organizations in fully utilizing their own experiences and advantages in regional, historical and cultural expertise in playing their unique role in resolving regional conflicts. When cooperating with each other, the United Nations and regional organizations should use their respective strengths to complement and promote each other’s efforts. Regional organizations should strengthen contacts and cooperation among themselves, draw on one another’s experiences and learn from each other. China appreciates the efforts of regional organizations, such as the African Union (AU), to resolve regional hotbed issues through good offices and peaceful means. We hope that the United Nations will provide more assistance to the relevant regional organizations and support their important role in maintaining regional peace and security. Thirdly, we should continue to cooperate in seeking win-win situations and towards common development. All countries should adopt a new approach for win-win solutions, and in pursuit of self-interest we must also take the interests of others into account and promote common development, while seeking our own. They should maintain a concept of security that is joint, integrated, cooperative and sustainable; take full account of the history and reality of relevant regional problem; and develop comprehensive policies that seek security through cooperation, place equal emphasis on development and security, and promote sustainable security through sustainable development. The AU, the largest and most representative regional organization in Africa, is playing an increasingly important role in regional peace and security affairs. China has always been an active and constructive participant in African peace and security affairs. In July 2012, at the fifth ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China put forward the Initiative on China-Africa Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Security, aimed at enhancing the AU’s capacit-building in peace and security, improving its capacities in peacekeeping operations and combatting terrorism and piracy. The Initiative covers Chinese financial support to the AU for conducting peacekeeping operations and building the African Standby Force. It also covers strengthened training for African Union peace and security officers and peacekeepers. With the efforts of both sides over the past three years, there has been positive progress in implementing the initiative. China has provided positive support to the African Union Mission in Somalia, as well as for other activities, and has trained a large number of peacekeepers for African countries. The Forum will hold its sixth meeting later this year, on the theme “Peace and security”. Together with Africa, China is ready to seize the opportunity to step up the implementation of the Initiative on China-Africa Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Security so as to facilitate the political settlement of hot-spot issues and jointly promote peace, stability and development on the African continent. China attaches great importance to the important role played by regional and subregional organizations in preventing and resolving conflicts and facilitating post-conflict reconstruction, as well as responding to non-traditional security threats. China is ready to join hands with the international community to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations to promote international peace and security and to create a more secure and brighter future for all.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his valuable briefing. I would also like to thank the presidency of the Security Council for organizing this important meeting. At present, the world faces great changes and transformations in the structure of the international system and with regard to the concept of regional and international security, as well as with regard to the policies guiding regional and international relations. Ongoing instability in certain regions has led to great changes in the type of security threats we face. For example, terrorist groups take advantage of chaos and instability to transform into global groups that threaten all regions without exception. Increasing globalization and technological progress have also served to create complex, intertwined threats that go beyond the territory of a single State or region — such as cyberthreats — which will threaten global security unless we work collectively to address them with creative methods. The concept of security has therefore changed overall. It is no longer tied just to military or State security as it once was. It is therefore no longer enough to focus on regional security alone, as it too is linked to political, economic and developmental issues that require a comprehensive, global perspective as well as mutual reliance among regional and international organizations, such as the United Nations. That in turn requires efforts on all levels, with a view to setting out clear strategies and charting courses of action that we can take to face the current threats to international peace and security. Cooperation among regional and international organizations has become an important prerequisite to face all sorts of challenges, whether regional or international. In that context, some organizations — such as the League of Arab States, the European Union and the African Union, as well as many other organizations in Asia and Latin America — serve as very useful models that should be followed in collectively achieving regional security. The League of Arab States is also among the regional organizations that serves as an important political forum for settling conflicts and launching mediation efforts and political processes. The European Union, too, plays an extremely effective role in mediation and in responding to crises in various geographical regions, including the Middle East and the African continent. The African Union also faces grave security threats on the African continent. Cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, especially when it comes to peacekeeping operations, has contributed greatly to maintaining international peace and security, alleviating the burden on the United Nations and implementing resolutions of the Security Council. In that context, I should like to emphasize the importance of subregional cooperation in facing terrorist threats, which are pervasive in certain regions. Such cooperation has proved useful, in particular in the cases in the Lake Chad Basin and Benin, as well as in addressing terrorist groups associated with Boko Haram. Utilizing multinational forces and good military coordination also play an important role in facing the threats posed by that and other terrorist groups. Regional organizations have comparative advantages in their own geographic regions, as well as strong networks with extensive knowledge of their respective regions. Geographical proximity also makes those organizations more responsive to the needs of their regions, as well as more active as partners in determining the causes and solutions to the various crises. On the other hand, many regional organizations continue to lack certain important strategic and executive capabilities necessary to facing security threats, in particular terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organized crime. They need to be given adequate tools and means to carry out preventive diplomacy and provide early warning, so as to prevent and settle conflicts in a timely way. In that regard, the United Nations can play a very important role in supporting regional organizations, which are indispensable in facing many conflict situations. We would like to stress the importance of the role of the Organization and of using the Charter of the United Nations to respond to international security threats. The United Nations should lead regional and international coordination with subregional and civil society organizations alike. That places great responsibility on the United Nations to set up the necessary partnerships and play a greater role in providing the necessary means to regional organizations so that they can adequately and promptly respond to security threats and to adapt in the best way possible to the various changes and geopolitical transformations. In that regard, we would like to suggest reconsideration of a permanent mechanism of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, which would hold regular meetings with a view to promoting cooperation among such organizations and to expand the scope of dialogue and exchanges on lessons learned, including achieving consensus on dealing with different international peace and security issues. We hope that the Security Council and the Secretariat will look into a way of discussing and launching such a mechanism. In conclusion, I would like to stress the importance of the role of regional organizations for two main reasons. First, at the regional level, cooperation between the countries of a given region that are members of the same organizations would positively influence peace in the entire region. Secondly, regional organizations that face security challenges are part of the global security structure, which now relies on the efforts of those organizations, as well as of international organizations. While regions are the source of many security threats, they are also capable of providing solutions to threats that could have extremely dangerous regional and international repercussions if left unchecked. I would also like to underscore the fact that bridging the gaps between the regional organizations and the United Nations would increase the chances of success in dealing with world crises at a time when those organizations require the necessary support to complement the United Nations role in international peace and security. That makes the link between regional and world security a complementary and interdependent relationship.

We would like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his briefing. We note the key role of the United Nations in establishing a more reliable, fair and effective architecture for international relations, where the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security is borne by the Security Council. The Russian Federation has consistently called for the development and improvement of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations on a wide range of issues, based on the Charter of the United Nations and, in particular, its Chapter VIII. With respect to joint efforts in the maintenance of international peace and security within the Security Council’s purview, we deem it of critical importance to ensure the Council’s approval of and control over regional and coalition operations that envision the use of force. Only by adhering to the decisions of the Security Council can the necessary international legitimacy be attributed to the use of sanctions mechanism. It must also be noted that, in the context of new and emerging threats and challenges, cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the illegal flow of small arms and light weapons is of the utmost importance. We have consistently supported developing multifaceted cooperation among the United Nations, the African Union and African countries vulnerable to crises. Although we are talking primarily about the African Union, other regional and subregional organizations, which usually have a better understanding of the specificity of local issues, are also of considerable relevance. We welcome the establishment of the African Peace and Security Architecture with the assistance of the international community. We are convinced of the need to further strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union, so as to increase the effectiveness of efforts to solve the problems of peace and security in Africa and to better tackle crises around the globe. In that connection, we note the efforts of the United Nations and the African Union to stabilize the situation in Darfur, Somalia, the Central African Republic, the Sahel and Mali, as well as on the inter-Sudanese track. Of equal importance is the coordination of actions to prevent conflicts in South Sudan. At the same time, we commend the successful cooperation between the African Union and other subregional organizations — such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the East African Community, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the Economic Community of West African States and the Southern African Development Community — in neutralizing the threats to peace, security and stability on the African continent. We are deeply concerned about the ongoing activities of the armed group Boko Haram in a number of countries. We welcome the efforts of regional partners of Abuja in providing assistance to counter that group’s threat to the security of West African States and the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, in the understanding that any international assistance should be provided only with the consent of the Nigerian authorities. There is also great potential in the cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States. We also feel that there is promise for the broadening of contacts between the United Nations and other dynamically growing regional structures, such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Union of South American Nations and the Caribbean Community. One of Russia’s priorities is to strengthen the cooperation between the United Nations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which are enhancing their political standing in the world and strengthening regional and international architectures for security. We consider the Collective Security Treaty Organization to be a multifaceted structure able to respond to a wide range of contemporary challenges and threats that its member States might face. In that regard, we see prospects for deepening the cooperation between the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the United Nations in the area of peacemaking. In the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, there is intensive work underway in the development of its own peacekeeping capabilities, including cooperation with the United Nations peacekeeping operations. Furthermore, the Collective Security Treaty Organization is assisting international efforts aimed at post-conflict rebuilding in Afghanistan as well as at stemming the threat of drugs coming from that country. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) plays a major role in ensuring stability and security in the Eurasian region. We note that the SCO has rightly become a cornerstone of regional security in all of its manifestations. Its activities relate to counter- terrorism and countering extremism. In that regard, we have seen the positive impact of the organization’s regional counter-terrorism structures. There has also been development in cooperation in the areas of the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and international information security. Of particular importance for the European continent are the activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe — an organization that complements the efforts of the United Nations in the region and within the framework of its mandate — in establishing agreed mechanisms across the region. On 1 August, we marked the fortieth anniversary of the signing of the 1975 Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is one of the most modern security architectures in the world. We are fully committed to the Helsinki principles of inter-State relations, their linkages and the reciprocal obligations under the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We call upon all States of the Eurasian and Atlantic community to follow the letter and spirit of those principles. History has demonstrated how double standards and a selective approach to implementing standards in an attempt to strengthen one State’s security undermine that of other States and how intervention in inter-State affairs increases security threats for the region as a whole. Unfortunately, over the past year — as this is clearly demonstrated by the Ukrainian crisis — we are witnessing a crisis in European security. There is a need to continue to seek solutions to that situation. We think that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe should reject confrontation and return to discussions in a constructive spirit. That is the only way to find solutions to the accumulated and systemic problems — while finding steps to ensure the principle of the indivisibility of security. We hope that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will return to discussing the idea of establishing a unified military-political, humanitarian and economic space from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, including the integration processes or what is known as the “integration of integrations”. We fully the support the efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe aimed at assisting in settling the conflict in Ukraine and welcome the essential work of the Special Monitoring Mission in monitoring the situation on the ground. However, of key importance for the swift implementation of all provisions of the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk Agreement, which recently have reached an impasse, is active and productive dialogue within the framework of the Contact Group and its working sub-group. Clearly, without progress in implementing the political provisions of the Minsk agreements and direct dialogue between Kyiv, Lugansk and Donetsk, there can be no final settlement or sustainable de-escalation.

I would like to thank you, Madam President, for convening us today to discuss the contribution of regional organizations to the maintenance of international peace and security. I also thank the Secretary-General for his briefing at the beginning of this meeting. Lithuania aligns itself with the statement to be delivered on behalf of the European Union (EU). As our Jordanian colleague noted a few minutes ago, regional and subregional organizations have the advantage of geographical proximity and can thus respond more quickly to the evolving situation on the ground. They share better knowledge of and insights into the causes, factors and actors of a crisis, and, as neighbours, they have a direct interest in preventing a crisis from spilling over. The United Nations and regional and subregional organizations would benefit greatly from developing greater complementarity and using their comparative advantages and capabilities as they seek to defuse crises, negotiate peaceful settlements and tackle cross-border threats. Let me refer today to three regional organizations of which my country is a member — the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe — and to their cooperation with the United Nations. In the aftermath of the horrors of the Second World War, European Governments, determined to prevent another such terrible war, were determined to proceed so as to make a war between the historic rivals not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible. Successive transformations made the European Union an anchor of peace and security on the continent, whose underlying principle of solidarity works inside as well as well outside its boundaries, including through a comprehensive strategic partnership with the United Nations, which was recognized in last year’s presidential statement S/PRST/2014/4 on the subject, adopted under the Lithuanian presidency of the Council. On the political level, the EU commitment to prevention and mediation finds expression in its continued support for United Nations stand-by teams of mediation experts and its direct involvement in mediation, such as that which produced an historic agreement between Pristina and Belgrade in 2013 and, more recently, the successful conclusion of negotiations between the E3+3 Governments and Iran. As the largest humanitarian and development donor worldwide, the European Union cooperates with the United Nations in all major conflict and post-conflict areas, whether Syria, Libya, South Sudan, Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Yemen or Afghanistan. The EU has been at the forefront of United Nations- led international efforts in the Ebola response, which the Council discussed just last week. The EU and its member States dedicated €1.2 billion for humanitarian aid, recovery and research projects in the affected countries, including for support to the African Union’s medical mission in West Africa. EU institutions and member States have allocated some €3.7 billion to tackle the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Syria alone. The comprehensive and synergistic nature of partnerships among the United Nations, the EU and African Union can well be seen in Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic and elsewhere, ranging from border management and security sector reform to capacity-building, post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation. In Mali, an EU training mission (EUTM) and the civilian mission EUCAP Sahel Mali are actively contributing to the country’s security sector reform. Lithuania is a long-term contributor to EUTM Mali and is committed to maintaining its involvement. Close cooperation between the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union is also strong in Somalia, involving Mission Atalanta, among others, in which Lithuania has participated since 2011. The EU’s African Peace Facility, inter alia, supports the fight of the African Union Mission in Somalia against Al-Shabaab terrorists and will provide funding for the multinational joint task force against Boko Haram. EUCAP Sahel Niger, established in 2012, is assisting the country and the region to tackle transborder security threats such as terrorism and organized crime. With regard to combatting terrorism and countering violent extremism, United Nations-EU high-level counter-terrorism political dialogue and cooperation offer much-needed and useful exchanges, as well as capacity-building initiatives for affected regions and States and should be further developed. The OSCE, an organization with 57 participating States on three continents, engages in a wide range of issues, including conflict prevention, mediation, confidence- and security-building measures, the fight against illicit trade in small arms, non- proliferation issues, and the promotion of the rule of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms. All those areas coincide with the activities of the United Nations. Thus the two organizations certainly have a great potential for closer cooperation that has yet to be fully utilized. The OSCE has developed considerable mediation and conflict-prevention capacities complementary to those of the United Nations, and it continues to play a role in tackling the protracted conflicts in Nagorno Karabakh, Transnistria and Georgia, as well as to contribute to security and stability in Central Asia. This year, the OSCE marks the fortieth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act — a set of fundamental commitments based on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, the inviolability of borders and the non-use of force, which are also at the core of the Charter of the United Nations. It is an important but also a poignant anniversary, in the context of the unprecedented breach of those very principles by Russia, whose proxy war against Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea continue to cause death and destruction. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has an important role to play, as it represents the only international body providing continuous reporting from the ground and registering ongoing violations of the Minsk ceasefire. The Mission’s vehicles have been burned and its unmanned aerial vehicles have been repeatedly jammed, while its observers have been denied access and threatened by illegal militants who continue to enjoy the military and material support of their patrons. The Mission definitely needs greater support and cooperation from both the European Union and the United Nations as it continues to carry out its work. Despite existing difficulties, a greater role for the United Nations in the pursuit of a durable, viable resolution of that conflict should be further explored. Let me now turn to the Council of Europe, which has developed an impressive inventory of international treaties aimed at addressing some of the most pressing contemporary challenges that are at the core of issues related to peace and security. The conventions on mutual assistance in criminal matters, on corruption, on cybercrime, on the prevention of terrorism and on action against trafficking in human beings are just a few highly relevant examples for the work we do here at the United Nations, including in this Council. Those treaties are open to accession by States not members of the Council of Europe and can provide useful standards and tools for countries anywhere around the globe for strengthening governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights. In June, for the first time, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe addressed the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism on the initiatives aimed at supporting efforts by States to implement resolution 2178 (2014) on foreign terrorist fighters. The recent adoption by the Council of Europe of the protocol on foreign terrorist fighters merits our attention as we continue to elaborate joint responses to that unprecedented threat. It also serves as an excellent example of close cooperation between regional organizations and United Nations entities, since the adoption of the protocol was originally suggested by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, which also participated actively in the drafting process. The partnership between the United Nations and the Council of Europe can also be strengthened in the field of the rule of law, the absence of which, along with the ensuing lawlessness and abuse, are often at the very core of conflict. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe assists countries in democratic transitions and constitutional processes. The work of the Commission is well recognized not only within the Council of Europe but also among its Mediterranean and Central Asian partners. The Venice Commission is already working closely with the United Nations Development Programme on justice reforms. Its expertise could be further used in assisting countries in the constitutional and legislative fields, especially in post-conflict situations, where building a judicial system and ensuring the independence of the judiciary are often key priorities. Contemporary security challenges are too complex and too multidimensional to be addressed by any one single player. It is essential to take forward the partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations, with a view to strengthening complementarities and creating new synergies on the basis of their comparative advantages. I hope that today’s debate will contribute to that process.

I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his presence, as well as for his valuable contributions to today’s discussion. I would also like to thank the Nigerian presidency for organizing today’s debate and for its cohesive approach to the three debates that have been scheduled for this week to address new challenges such as Ebola, crucial solutions such as security sector reform and the work to be undertaken by regional organizations. Those are three issues that affect us all and whose consideration by the Council is essential. Our thanks for that. I am going to divide my statement into two parts. First, I would like to refer to those aspects that, in the view of Spain, have greater added value for the role of regional organizations in the face of new challenges to international peace and security. Second, I will address the challenges those regional organizations face in conducting their work. First of all, with respect to the added value of these bodies, I will paraphrase the Secretary-General, who acknowledged that this is a time of partnership peacekeeping. Of course, this is a reality, and the main aspect to which I will refer is the importance of the work of regional organizations in peacekeeping as well as the repercussions of current conflicts in terms of violence, with indiscriminate attacks against civilians, and in humanitarian terms, causing refugees crises, just to give a few examples. It is now more than ever necessary that regional and subregional structures become involved in peacekeeping and peacebuilding in the States of their region. They have a greater knowledge of local realities and can make the best contributions. The case of Africa is a paradigmatic in that respect. The crucial role played by the African Union (AU) in crises such as those in Somalia and the Central African Republic with the support and the assistance of the United Nations is a very good example. But it is not only regional organizations of a continental nature but also subregional organizations that have important added value. In the case of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, for instance, we saw yesterday how it was able to shape the beginnings of an agreement in the case of South Sudan that we trust will be able to be developed later. Also, the Economic Community of West African States plays a very important role in supporting and playing a preventive role with respect to resolving the institutional and political crisis in Guinea-Bissau. Let me mention also the East African Community, which also supported the Arusha agreements in Burundi and which today could play a very important role in helping to achieve stability in that country, and, of course, we encourage them to do so. Another area where regional organizations also have important added value is attention to new threats, and here I should to refer in particular to the fight against terrorism. Undoubtedly the rise of terrorism and radicalism is a global problem that we all face and that requires that we be united in the fight against this barbaric phenomenon. Tackling the problem from a global perspective is key, but we must do it also from a regional perspective. Regional organizations are increasingly aware of that fact, and a very clear example of this was the participation of many of these organizations — the European Union, the African Union, the League of Arab States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe — in the ministerial meeting on foreign terrorist fighters held in Madrid on 28 July, along with the special meeting of the Counter- Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate chaired by the Ambassador of Lithuania. That was a very clear example of their involvement in this area. There are other aspects and other new threats that also require efforts on the part of regional organizations. Here I refer to the fight against transnational organized crime, mitigating environmental threats and the fight against illicit trafficking, including human trafficking, which is something we see every day on the Mediterranean coast. Another aspect that my delegation would like to stress in connection with the importance of regional organizations is preventive diplomacy and, more specifically, mediation. We in Spain firmly believe in the value of mediation as an instrument of preventive diplomacy. Regional organizations have a great deal to say in this area, as they have deeper knowledge of the local culture and realities, and they have the capacity to influence regional actors, with broad leeway for the participation of civil society, including women, in mediation initiatives. Any initiative promoting the training and involvement of regional organizations in mediation efforts seems particularly interesting to us. I would like to give an example of this. In March, within the framework of the Spanish-Moroccan initiative on the promotion of mediation in the Mediterranean region, a seminar was held in Madrid on the role of regional and subregional organizations in mediation in the Mediterranean region. The seminar helped to promote and develop General Assembly resolution 68/303, of 2014, on mediation and regional organizations. We were joined in Madrid not only by the United Nations but also by the European Union, the Union for the Mediterranean, the League of Arab States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Arab Maghreb Union. These types of meetings will continue and soon, as I said earlier, the representative of Jordan will hold another meeting in Amman along these same lines. Having said that, we have to acknowledge that obstacles exist to the work of regional and subregional organizations, obstacles that we must jointly try to overcome. Among them I would mention very briefly the need to guarantee and sustainability and predictability of financial resources, the need to promote capacity-building in regional and subregional bodies, and the need to enhance cooperation between regional bodies and the United Nations. The African Union is once again a very good example of the efforts that have been made in recent years, with its increasing contribution to the maintenance of peace and security. As a member of the European Union, I must of course mention the importance that Spain attaches to the cooperation that the European Union has with those regional organizations. While aligning myself with the statement to be made later by the representative of the European Union, I wish to to stress the important role of triangulation among the European Union, the United Nations and other organizations, specifically the African Union. I should like to conclude by raising a series of issues that the Council itself could reflect on and consider as a means of deepening the existing relationship between the United Nations and these regional organizations. There are annual meetings between the Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union or the Political and Security Committee of the European Union. These types of meetings are a very good starting point, and my delegation fully supports them. There are other things we could take into account, for example, the statements made by Security Council members before the organs of regional bodies. Spain had the honour to participate this year, on four different occasions, in the work of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, and we believe that that was a very positive experience for all involved. Other ideas could involve greater coordination among the agendas or presidencies of the Councils, joint annual meetings of the Secretaries-General of the regional organizations with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and so there is a whole set of different aspects on which I believe the Security Council should reflect so as to determine if we could put them into practice.

We would like at the outset to thank the Nigerian presidency for having convened this debate and the Secretary- General for his very thorough and detailed briefing. We have said repeatedly that the vision and contributions of regional organizations are crucial and irreplaceable in preventing conflict and strengthening peace processes. That is why these organizations must strengthen their ability to act, taking account of new approaches and strategies, in order to take on a more direct role in terms of peace and regional security, in accordance with the spirit of Chapter VIII of the Charter. The conduct and interests of local actors and networks as well as emerging threats characterized by their intensity must be considered from a regional perspective in order to adequately prevent and tackle the crises that emerge. The Latin American and Caribbean region is a zone of peace that through cooperative efforts promotes sustainable development as one of the pillars of stability and cooperation for peace, a vision that is present in the various bodies and mechanisms in that region. Here we wish to acknowledge the important role played by the Organization of American States (OAS) in strengthening cooperation in security matters. For more than a decade, it has incorporated the concept of multidimensional security in order to tackle emerging threats, including terrorism, transnational organized crime, the global drug problem, corruption, money- laundering, illicit arms trafficking, human trafficking and the possession of weapons of mass destruction by non-State groups. At the same time, the OAS recognizes that extreme poverty and the exclusion from society of broad sectors of the population affect stability and democracy, eroding social cohesiveness and undermining States’ security. The OAS’s approach constitutes a significant contribution to the ways in which regional organizations can deal with new threats, i.e. by addressing their underlying causes and promoting inclusive development in order to maintain international peace and security. We appreciate the fact that cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional bodies is becoming more structured, given the concrete role that those bodies have to play in managing conflicts. In that context, interaction between the Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union can promote a more effective partnership involving the multiple actors that negotiations and inclusive dialogue aimed at building and consolidating peace require. We also appreciate the role played by the African Union peacekeeping operations conducted within the context of United Nations mandates, and emphasize the importance for them of being able to rely on funding that is predictable, sustainable and flexible, if they are to be as effective as possible. Ensuring that standardized procedures and training in human rights and international humanitarian law issues are used in equipping those missions and their contingents is also a crucial area to which regional organizations can make a positive contribution. Recent experience such as that in Sierra Leone have shown how the United Nations, working together with the African Union and subregional organizations, can help to consolidate peace processes, based on the principles of national ownership and inclusiveness, while ensuring the involvement of civil society and, of course, the participation of women. In that regard, regional and subregional organizations are crucial to implementing resolution 1325 (2000), and we would like to highlight the African Union’s proclamation of 2015 as the Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063. The Agenda refers specifically to the role of regional organizations in consolidating democratic governance, human rights and the rule of law in Africa and is an example of the strategic vision that dealing with that issue requires. Finally, we would like to emphasize the commitment of African countries and regional and subregional organizations to the second five-year review of the peacebuilding architecture of the United Nations, illustrating how regional experiences can influence global processes. We would like to conclude by reaffirming the high priority that Chile assigns to regionalism’s contribution to ensuring greater effectiveness in our system as a whole, especially through an understanding of local contexts. We believe that cooperation should be at the heart of that approach if we are to achieve a functioning multilateralism.

I would like to thank the Nigerian presidency for organizing today’s open debate and for its choice of theme, which addresses issues that the Security Council has to deal with on a daily basis. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the Secretary-General for enriching our discussion this morning through his presence, which again is a way of sending a clear message that regional organizations and their joint work with the Security Council are important to his own agenda as Secretary-General. And I thank Nigeria for the excellent concept note (S/2015/599, annex) it prepared for the debate. Angola believes that strengthening global, continental and subregional cooperation is critical to the ability of the entire international community to achieve peace, security and sustainable development. In that context we must stress the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in several innovative missions, as well as the continued engagement of the United Nations with regional organizations on the basis of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, as exemplified by their interaction and consultations on developing a shared understanding of the root causes of conflicts. In that regard, the creation of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union is a milestone in that cooperation and partnership. We have recently witnessed the resurgence in Africa of attempts to achieve unconstitutional changes of Government and other threats that are undermining national and subregional stability and affecting our peoples’ human rights, progress and well-being. The nature of the threats to peace and stability in Africa has changed recently, with the appearance of terrorist groups, particularly Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, in Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon. In that connection, we commend the joint response to the threat of Boko Haram represented by the creation of a joint force, to which the Council has pledged its support. The security of off-shore platforms and the danger of piracy, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, is a matter of regional and global concern as well and deserves the full attention of the international community, especially the Security Council. The African Union’s launch of the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC), which seeks to create a robust rapid-reaction force aimed at providing a capacity for managing and responding to security situations around the continent, is an important development. While the technical aspects of ACIRC are still being finalized, we believe that with the support of the African States, Africa’s main partners and the United Nations, it will become a reality, representing a major gain in combating current and future threats to peace and security on the continent. We reiterate that the primary responsibility for guaranteeing peace and stability is national. We welcome the initiatives of subregional organizations such as the Southern African Development Community, the Economic Community of West African States, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development for their contributions to addressing subregional security. Angola strongly supports African ownership in addressing and responding to contemporary challenges to regional peace and security on the continent. In conclusion, I would once again like to thank you, Madam President, for bringing to the Security Council this important topic, so crucial to peace and security in the world today and in the future.

I would like to thank you, Madam President, for convening today’s very important debate. I also thank the Secretary- General for sending a very clear signal to the Council about how important it is that we cooperate effectively with regional and subregional institutions. That relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations is one of the greatest structural issues for the Security Council. At their best, the United Nations and the region work in partnership towards shared objectives, harnessing each other’s expertise and making a difference to lives for people across the world. When it works, we are very strong; when it does not, none of us achieve what we want to achieve. Therefore, cooperation is indispensable. The challenges facing the Council cannot be tackled by one body on its own. We need the united efforts of international, regional, subregional and local bodies. I think that is most true of all in Africa. The Council has shared objectives and shared challenges on peace and security with the African Union across the continent. Those shared challenges make our relationship with the African Union so important. At its best, that relationship makes the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people better. Somalia is a good example of that integrated partnership. The African Union’s military mission, the African Union Mission in Somalia, supported by United Nations logisticians working alongside a United Nations special political mission, have been at the heart of progress in Somalia. A joint team from the African Union and the United Nations recently made important recommendations on strengthening military and political progress in the country. The Security Council endorsed that work through resolution 2232 (2015) in the past month. The results of that close partnership make Somalia one of the few bright spots on the Council’s agenda. Bringing an end to the fighting in South Sudan is another challenge that we jointly face. We all said that 17 August was a hard deadline for an agreement to bring peace. If the Government of South Sudan will not sign up to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development-plus deal, then we must all be firm on our next steps. We cannot sit by while leaders fight and their people’s suffering grows. As a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom is committed to ensuring that Europe plays its part in making the world a safer and more prosperous place. The European Union is engaged across the waterfront of international issues, and it is a key partner for the United Nations in Africa. Its role has also been clear with regard to Iran, where it was a key facilitator in the recent E3+3 Governments talks and helped to achieve an outcome of which the Council was very supportive and endorsed emphatically. We all bring different approaches to tackling issues of peace and security. We make the most progress when we harness our comparative advantages, as the Secretary-General said. The Council’s ultimate responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security does not exclude the significant talents and perspectives that regional organizations can provide, but it is important for the United Nations to be engaged at all stages of peace processes where we are required to support and implement them. The report of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (see S/2015/446) has interesting things to say on this. We agree with the Panel that consultative decision-making, a common strategy and division of labour are key components of the relationship between the Council and regional organizations. We also agree that partnerships with regional and subregional organizations should be part of the Council’s early engagement on emerging threats. Substantive dialogue between the Council and regional organizations is an important tool, and where possible, joint analysis and planning will enable the Council to adopt clearer and better mandates, in particular where regional missions are deployed. We encourage regional organizations to review their own planning authorization, human rights monitoring and governance structures so that together we can create a more coherent international and regional approach to conflict. It is also important for us to work with regional organizations to identify more sustainable ways of funding their operations. The other partner in that for all of us is civil society, the media and other relevant non-State actors. This year, we have heard moving and detailed accounts in Arria Formula meetings from individuals brave enough to share their experiences in Darfur, in North Korea and in Syria. Those briefings improve our understanding of what is at stake. The testimony of those on the ground is central in alerting the international community to escalating tensions. We should continue to examine how we can work more effectively with those groups on the challenges that we face internationally. The United Kingdom is convinced that we can and should do more to deepen our cooperation with regional organizations across the world. Our responsibility in the Council is to maintain international peace and security. Our ability to discharge that heavy responsibility will only be made stronger by deepening our relationship with regional organizations, which is why we so strongly welcome this important debate today.

New Zealand also thanks Nigeria for convening this meeting, and the Secretary-General for his briefing and for staying with us this morning. We are strong advocates of the role of regional organizations and of the need for cooperation between the United Nations, especially the Security Council, and regional organizations. African leadership on this issue is important, but we must also acknowledge at the outset that these are not challenges solely limited to Africa and that the issues discussed today affect other regional organizations around the globe. The experience in our own region has been that regional organizations can be highly effective. They frequently have the comparative advantage that the Secretary-General has referred to, because of their immediate needs and interests in local stability, their understanding of the local context and, where necessary, logistical ease of deployment. As the Secretary-General has noted this morning, the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations has strongly endorsed the role of regional organizations and made encouraging recommendations for better synergy with the United Nations, and especially the Security Council. We have seen many successful examples of regional organizations responding to emerging crises to prevent the emergence of conflict. However, we need to be honest. In addition to the issues of finance and capacity, which have already been highlighted today, there are other significant challenges to effective cooperation with regional and subregional engagement on peace and security issues. The result is that there are still too many situations where regional action is not proving sufficient to prevent or resolve crises. Cooperation with the Security Council, particularly in the case of key organizations, such as the African Union, is still largely reactive and ad hoc. Interventions such as the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) were highly challenging, not only in terms of resourcing, but also in vision and shared understanding. That hugely complicated the process of transition to a post-AFISMA operation. A key part of the problem, as we see it, is a failure of approach on both sides. There is just not enough political energy going into cooperation to produce the necessary collective partnership between the two Councils. Such structured cooperation between the Security Council and regional entities on developing coordinated approaches should begin at the outset when crises are emerging. The Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council need to do a better job of working in unison to complement each other and of utilizing each other’s comparative advantages, starting with conflict prevention. We also believe that both organs should be less concerned about sequencing and should focus more on working together and simultaneously. Again, the High-level Panel has useful recommendations in that regard. At the end of the day, both the United Nations and the African Union (AU) have responsibilities to fulfil. They cannot avoid those by arguing that they were waiting for the other to act. If cooperation is going to work in the long term, it requires a more systematized arrangement, based on the view that the two organizations recognize the threats in the region and wish to work with each other to address them. There is a clear capacity gap, not only in terms of the organizations themselves, but also in terms of the national capacity that Security Council members themselves deploy to promote effective cooperation. As a result, we are still some distance from the kind of coordinated approach to the assessment of key regional threats and the development of appropriate and coordinated responses that we all seek. Furthermore, we cannot simply wish away the uncomfortable financial realities. Capacity is still a major issue for the AU and for its Peace and Security Council. The shift towards a greater role for regional actors over the past decade has put real pressure on regional and subregional organizations to build a complex apparatus over a short period of time. There needs to be a sustained long-term focus on building effective regional conflict management frameworks so that regional organizations are fully equipped to take on tasks on behalf of the international community. In our view, the United Nations has a clear role to play in providing assistance. Indeed, it is in the United Nations own interest to assist, because as the experiences in Mali and the Central African Republic have clearly shown, the only alternative is the United Nations itself taking on more and more highly dangerous and expensive operations and paying the full cost. Those whose positions are driven by fiscal considerations should think about how much they would have saved if those operations had been funded under some kind of innovative formula that would have resulted in only part of the cost being funded from the United Nations budget. We suggest that the Security Council continues to have a very important role to play. The Council should continue to provide institutional support to regional organizations through dedicated United Nations resources, such as the United Nations Office for West Africa and the United Nations Office to the African Union. They are useful for building strong collaborative relationships with the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union, and have had effective results on the ground. The Council should also look to identify effective and practical ways to improve interaction between the members of the Council and the AU Peace and Security Council. The Council must also face up to the challenge of how to fund regional and subregional peacekeeping operations, including by improving the efficiency of the existing mechanisms. The recommendations of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations concerning predictable financing for AU-led peace support operations under Security Council mandates are a useful starting point for discussion, as the Secretary-General told the Council this morning. For our part, New Zealand supported the inaugural meeting between the 10 elected members of the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Counci in Addis Ababa at the start of this year, and with Spain, we have been meeting at the start of each month with the Chair of the AU Peace and Security Council to discuss the joint agendas of each Council. We have also sought the views of key regional actors ahead of and following key Security Council decisions. In our view, the communication between the Councils in New York and in Addis Ababa needs to be informal, regular and substantive if it is to be effective. Most of all, it must become part of the regular business of both organizations. That will indicate that we have the partnerships that the Secretary-General has rightly identified must be our objective.

My delegation joins other Council members in thanking Nigeria for convening today’s debate. We also wish to thank your delegation, Madam President, for the informative concept note (S/2015/599, annex) that has been circulated, which helps frame our debate today. We wish to also express appreciation to the Secretary-General for his briefing, which we have heard with much interest, as well as for his untiring efforts and leadership in enhancing and consolidating the relationship between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations around the world. We share the view that regional actors should assume greater ownership of developments in their respective regions. Malaysia aligns itself with the statements to be delivered by the representatives of Viet Nam on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Islamic State of Iran on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, and Kuwait on behalf of the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. We are of the view that today’s debate comes at a particularly timely juncture as threats to international peace and security have become increasingly complex and challenging, with trans-border elements and other multi-layered regional dimensions. As rightly envisioned in the Charter of the United Nations, the United Nations has been and remains at the forefront of international, multilateral efforts to combat such new challenges, which range from blatant violations of international law, terrorism, transnational organized crime, humanitarian crises, environmental degradation and the outbreak of deadly diseases, among others. However, the authors of the Charter of the United Nations also had the foresight to presage that while the Organization and the Council would constitute the hub of the international peace and security architecture, they could not substitute for regional and subregional arrangements and organizations, which should perform such functions at that level, as envisioned by Chapter VIII of the Charter. Over the years, regional organizations such as the African Union (AU), ASEAN, the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, among others, have embarked on pragmatic steps, including by modifying their outlook and perspectives in order to more effectively meet and address changing global dynamics. At the same time, the Council has also taken steps to promote and enhance its engagement with regional organizations, including through the adoption of relevant decisions and through the convening of joint regular consultative meetings such as with the AU Peace and Security Council and the EU Political and Security Committee. Furthermore, close partnerships with various regional bodies on many important strategic areas — such as conflict prevention, mediation and peacekeeping operations — have also been established and strengthened over time. To date, cooperation and coordination among regional organizations in dealing with conflict and security challenges have been encouraging. Examples include the partnership between the African Union and the EU and the coordination between the AU and African subregional organizations to address threats to peace and security in the African continent. Malaysia believes that strategic partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations is vital in addressing contemporary global security challenges. We further believe that multilayered partnerships between the Council and regional organizations could serve as a strong foundation of the future global security agenda. From our perspective within ASEAN, Malaysia places great value and importance on the role played by regional and subregional organizations in conflict prevention and resolution, the deployment of peacekeeping operations, post-conflict building and reconstruction and other important areas. On its own, ASEAN has placed greater emphasis on creating an enabling environment for peace in order to ensure uninterrupted economic development. It has promoted regional architecture towards stability and prosperity, including tools for conflict prevention and peaceful settlement of disputes. Based on our experience, we support further efforts to deepen cooperation between the United Nations, and the Council in particular, and regional bodies. That said, we wish to highlight the following. The level and degree of intraregional cooperation varies significantly among regions, based on the unique historical and political background of each region. In addition, their aspirations, mandates and activities vary enormously. In that regard, we believe that cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations will be more rewarding when such diversity is duly observed and considered. Any form of cooperation should be inclusive, flexible, responsive and adaptable, especially in the case of complex joint endeavours such as peacekeeping, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. While regional organizations may provide an attractive alternative to an overstretched United Nations mission, it is important to bear in mind that regional bodies are also vulnerable to similar problems faced by the United Nations. While being mindful of the advantage of regional organizations in better understanding the conflicts in their regions, experience in dealing with situations such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Somalia, Darfur and the Central African Republic, among others, has revealed the limitations of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations. Without sufficient financial and capacity-building support, the aspirations and determination of regional organizations could outstrip their ability to deliver, particularly in harsh and challenging parts of the world. Consequently, burden-sharing can easily become burden-shifting as the international community places unrealistic expectations on regional organizations that have yet to build full capacity. We are of the view that although significant progress has been made in improving mutual cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, we strongly believe that more can be done. We hope that the discussion today will generate more ideas and strategies in order to deepen, expand and improve cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, as well as among the regional bodies, with a view to strengthening the capacity of the international community to respond effectively to new and old threats to international peace and security.

I thank the Nigerian delegation for convening this meeting on regional organizations and contemporary challenges of global security. I also thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his briefing. Chad aligns itself with the statement to be made by the observer of the African Union to the United Nations. The growing number and intensification of internal conflicts and the appearance of new serious threats — including terrorism, the proliferation of weapons, piracy at sea, transnational organized criminality, trafficking in drugs, arms and human, separatism and power conflicts, environmental degradation and pandemics — make coordinated regional action and a comprehensive approach more necessary than ever to address those manifold challenges. The cross-border nature of most security challenges in Africa, as well as the insufficient means at the disposal of individual countries, require the strengthening of regional organizations, which are the only bodies able to provide effective responses to insecurity in its many and multiplying forms across the world. In that regard, the African Union (AU) has adopted a peace and security architecture and developed exemplary cooperation with the United Nations, whose Charter in Chapter VIII recognizes its role in the prevention, resolution and peaceful settlement of conflict. Thus, the AU has not only deployed peacekeeping operations authorized by the Security Council, but has also undertaken its own activities in the area of conflict prevention and crisis management, including in Burundi, the Sudan, Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic, and so on. In spite of its experience and significant means, the United Nations alone cannot be everywhere all the time to tackle the manifold challenges in the areas of peace and security. That is why in Africa, where more than 62.5 per cent of United Nations peacekeeping operations and 87 per cent of uniformed personnel are deployed, the African Union is a key strategic partner that deserves to be supported so that it can shoulder its responsibilities in the area of peace and security on the continent. In Mali and in Central Africa, cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, through the Economic Community of West African States and the Economic Community of Central African States, has allowed for the swift deployment of African troops. We welcome such cooperation and the support of the United Nations to the African Union through the Ten-Year Capacity Building Programme, the provision of technical assistance and political support through the United Nations Office to the AU in Addis Ababa. Chad favours the strengthening of cooperation between the two organizations, and reiterates its support for the Common African Position on the United Nations Review of Peace Operations. Relations between the two organizations are evolving in a positive manner, but they have not yet attained the degree of strategic cooperation we would like to see. We encourage the United Nations prioritize a resolution to the urgent matter of financing African Union peacekeeping operations authorized by the Security Council. The two organizations must adopt specific measures to make financing of United Nations- mandated African Union peacekeeping operations of the Union more flexible, lasting and predictable, as recommended by the High-level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, whose high-quality and serious work we commend. We hope that all the other relevant recommendations of the High-level Panel will enjoy the attention of the Council. Despite its lack of predictable resources, which significantly hinders its ability to undertake peacekeeping and security operations on the continent, the African Union has comparative advantages, such as geographic proximity, legitimacy, an understanding of the root causes of conflict and the ability to swiftly intervene in case of crisis, as recalled by many speakers today. Given the transnational, even transcontinental dimension of contemporary security challenges, the development of rapid reaction capacity by the African Union — including the African Standby Force — three of whose five regional brigades should be operational by the end of 2015 — and the operationalization of the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises could provide the Security Council with the means to act first when a crisis emerges. Chad welcomes cooperation between the African Union and the European Union, two close partners of the United Nations in peacekeeping in Africa. The continent is hosting nine European Union civilian missions and military operations. Through the African Peace Facility, these are financing the African Union Mission in Somalia, which is a model of cooperation between the European Union, the African Union and the United Nations. It has also contributed to the deployment of the African Union operations in Mali and the Central African Republic. Chad welcomes the European Union’s efforts and underscores the importance of trilateral cooperation among the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations in addressing the common security and peace challenges on the continent. Strengthening cooperation between regional organizations and civil society and non-governmental organizations is of paramount importance because such organizations could provide advantages and a useful capacity to shore up peace and other activities relating to conflict management. In the African context, the importance of civil society, in particular women and youth, was reflected in the African Union decision marking 2015 as the Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development Towards Africa’s Agenda 2063. It would be a good idea to strengthen the capacity of African civil society organizations and to encourage their participation in resolving matters tied to peace and security. In conclusion, we note that the majority of security challenges in Africa and the world know no borders and require States and regional organizations to draw more on their mutual efforts to suppress such threats. No organization, including the United Nations, or region can respond to the many challenges relating to collective security alone. Only a solid, reliable and viable partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, based on a division of labour and taking into account the relative comparative advantages, and strongly supported by the United Nations, can address the manifold challenges to peace and security on the continent. In that connection, the African Union and its subregional mechanisms have developed institutional and operational capacities to play their full role, provided that the United Nations provides significant financial support.

I thank you, Madam President, for organizing this important debate. We would also like to thank the Secretary- General for his briefing. While the nature of threats to global security has become more complex and challenging over the course of the United Nations 70-year history, the partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations has become truly indispensable. We have made much progress in strengthening these partnerships, and we must collectively recommit to continuing to do so. Part of that effort will have to grapple with two increasingly relevant phenomena in the evolving relationship between regional organizations, subregional organizations and the United Nations: overlapping responsibilities and inequities and the need to improve the support provided by the international community to support the work of regional organizations. In the United States about 50 years ago, a programme known as Neighbourhood Watch was created. The idea was simple. Neighbours note when something is awry and they have a vested interest in ensuring that their communities and neighbours are safe. Now regional and subregional organizations are obviously much more than the Neighbourhood Watch of the international system, but regional and subregional organizations, as neighbours, are uniquely positioned to recognize root causes more accurately and to identify solutions earlier than organizations further away. When regional or subregional organizations engage, they do so with the benefit that comes from being a neighbour. They bring a unique capacity to understand local experiences, cultures and the complexity of the challenges being confronted. As neighbours, they are often better positioned to watch for problems and to act on them. But peacemaking and peacekeeping are not and never should become something that concerns neighbours alone. Indeed, the United Nations system, and United Nations peacekeeping especially, are premised on the idea that sometimes those further removed from deeply engrained challenges — strangers, even, rather than neighbours — are in a unique position to neutrally and effectively engaged to protect people endangered by their neighbours. That is why the Charter of the United Nations envisions a robust partnership between those closest to conflict and the United Nations itself. Both roles are essential. As the complementary and, at times, overlapping responsibilities of regional organizations, subregional organizations and the United Nations develop, there appears to be an increasing bifurcation of political and peacekeeping processes. Regional and subregional organizations have taken on an increasingly important role in facilitating, if not running, political processes to resolve conflicts and reach peace agreements, even when the Security Council has deployed a peacekeeping operation with responsibility for protecting civilians from being victimized in that conflict. This bifurcation of responsibilities sometimes offers important benefits, but it can also come with a price. While neighbours bring familiarity and ownership, they can also bring independent equities and interests. In order for our partnerships to be effective, we need to share responsibility and accountability even as we divide our labour based on comparative advantages. In South Sudan, while the Security Council has deployed over 12,000 troops to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the Security Council has deferred to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to lead mediation efforts. Given the outrageous failure of the parties to reach an agreement yesterday, support for the regional political process now must mean a readiness of the Security Council to take action, mobilize our collective resources, and increase pressure accordingly on those who frustrate peace. We must advance meaningful efforts to hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable. As part of our commitment to strengthening the United Nations capacity to support peacekeeping missions, the United States will co-host a summit this fall at the United Nations to secure new commitments and greater international support for United Nations peacekeeping. We must also, however, ensure that regional forces have the necessary support, training and equipment to carry out their critical work. Where the Security Council has authorized a regional organization, such as the African Union, to undertake critical actions to advance international peace and security, we need to ensure that the regional mission has the resources needed to execute its mandate effectively. But just as the Security Council needs to remain involved when political processes are being carried out by regional actors, so too does the Security Council need to retain accountability and oversight when it authorizes regional or subregional organizations to undertake peace operations. In particular, we need to ensure that all operations carried out under Security Council authority operate with the same respect for human rights and zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. The stakes for getting the relationship between regional subregional organizations and the United Nations right could not be higher. As neighbours close to a conflict or strangers far from it, each of us must do more to work cooperatively and effectively to support our partners in the important work of advancing peace.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela thanks Nigeria for convening this important thematic debate and expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his briefing. Furthermore, we endorse the statement to be made by the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. The concept note circulated by the Nigerian presidency (S/2015/599, annex) rightly points out that the end of the Cold War led to the strengthening of regional and subregional organizations with greater political space and international relevance. Venezuela believes strongly that the emerging multipolar and multicentre world bodes very positively for the strenghening of international peace and security. In this process, sustained cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations is critical to achieving the definitive abandonment of unilaterlism in international affairs. In this respect, we stress the need to work towards a more balanced world in which regional organizations have an important role to play in ensuring peace and security. Venezuela therefore calls for the expansion and strengthening of regional organizations, as well as for increasing interaction and relationships among them, since they are the natural agencies for preventing and resolving the conflicts that threaten world peace. Regional organizations are prior and complementary entities in the United Nations efforts to maintain peace and security, with particular emphasis on their preventive capacities. In fulfilling these tasks, regional organizations should fully respect all the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, including full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States and the self-determination of peoples. Regional organizations cannot promote war. Over the past 15 years, Latin America and the Caribbean have seen a profound change in their structures and political and social institutions with the emergence of a clear, progressive orientation towards a multipolar and multicentre world, inspired by President Hugo Chávez and other great regional leaders, including Commandante Fidel Castro Ruz and Presidents Nestor Kirschner, Evo Morales Ayma, Rafael Correa, Daniel Ortega Saavedra, Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff and Michelle Bachelet Jeria, among others. It has created a new regional political architecture that answers more to the interests of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean than to the interests of any other Power, leaving far behind regional organizations that, rather than represent the interests of Latin America and the Caribbean, subordinate them to alien interests and needs. Thus, these past 15 years have seen the emergence of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), PetroCaribe, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Southern Common Market, now expanded and re-energized. This break with the past represents a reaffirmation of the principles of sovereignty, non-intervention in internal affairs and political independence, and the definition of the interests and priorities of the countries of the region. These political integration processes are based on the need for mutual respect and benefit in preserving peace with social justice. The Union of South American Nations is built on the common resolve of all the countries of the subregion. UNASUR has demonstrated its ability to act quickly and decisively to prevent any corruption of the constitutional order, as happened in Bolivia against President Evo Morales Ayma in 2008 and against President Rafael Correa in Ecuador in 2010, when the member countries of that forum spoke up in favour of the validity of the constitutional and democratic order in those sister nations, in rejection of the insurrectionary and separatist claims of the insurgents. UNASUR now has a democratic protocol, signed in 2010, that provides for the imposition of diplomatic, political and economic sanctions in case of a breakdown of the democratic order in the South American region. Furthermore, ALBA was born of an initiative of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, to strengthen the self-determination of peoples and the sovereignty of States against the neocolonial policies of foreign Powers and consistently in favour of the poorest and most excluded. ALBA is not a subregional defence mechanism. It is an organization that is sensitive to the social, economic and environmental challenges facing the peoples of the region. It is committed to the fight against poverty and inequality. It is aware of the inequities among rich, middle-income and least developed countries. And it is focused on the complementarity of economies, and not on voracious and predatory competition. Cooperation and respect are pillars of peace. The greatest illustration of the commitment of ALBA with regard to the development of the peoples of the region is the establishment of PetroCaribe, in 2005. Conceived as an initiative to promote energy security in Central America and the Caribbean, PetroCaribe benefits more than 17 countries. It is a model of cooperation based on energy integration and founded on the principles of solidarity and special but differential treatment in the region. That cooperation is taking place in absolute respect for the agreements of the Caribbean Community and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, as outstanding examples of South-South cooperation among our countries. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is an example of pluralistic multilateralism and of unity in diversity among its members. Those aspects have allowed CELAC to make progress firmly in the development of common policies in such sensitive areas as sustainable development, climate change, nuclear disarmament, illicit drug trafficking, rejecting the embargo against Cuba, rejecting sanctions against Venezuela, and support for the process of the decolonization of the Malvinas and Puerto Rico, among others. In doing that, CELAC has highlighted its strong commitment to international peace and security, development with solidarity, partnership and the promotion of human rights. Through CELAC, not only do we consolidate the dream of the liberator Simón Bolívar for a united America, but we reiterate the historic principles of Latin America on international law with regard to self-determination, territorial inviolability and non-intervention, which are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Latin America and the Caribbean still faces significant challenges, but the strength of its institutions and the commitment of its leaders and its peoples to move forward towards fair, solidarity-based and autonomous integration is the best tool at its disposal. In that context, Latin America and the Caribbean stands out as a region with a clear commitment to peace, which in the past two decades have witnessed irrefutable progress in the area of peace and security. In that regard, our countries together have the lowest rate of military spending worldwide. We strongly support the objectives with regard to disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We are part of the first nuclear-weapon-free zone in a heavily inhabited region, set up in 1967 through the Treaty of Tlatelolco. We add our support to the principles set out in the declaration on South America as a zone of peace, as promoted by the Union of South American Nations, as well as the declaration on a zone of peace adopted by CELAC in January 2014. That experience, founded on respect for sovereignty, rejection of interventionism, and an unlimited commitment to peace, security and international law, contribute to strengthening our cooperation with other regional organizations in Africa and the Middle East, among others. Lastly, we want to stress the importance of cooperation among the various regional and subregional organizations, above all in support of regions beset by terrorism, violence and war. Perhaps our experience in the South as a zone of peace could be useful to our other brotherly countries throughout the world.

I thank you, Madam President, for having organized today’s useful debate on the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations. I also want to thank the Secretary-General for his briefing. The complexity of current crises requires increasingly concerted action by the United Nations and regional organizations, within the framework provided by the Charter of the United Nations, in particular Chapter VIII. In that regard, I should like to make three observations. First, regional organizations play an essential and growing role in crisis management. Their precise local knowledge and the networks they develop are an asset in understanding conflicts. Their geographic proximity allows faster deployment. And the special relationship they have with crisis States can contribute to the consolidation of fragile situations. France encourages the already considerable involvement of regional organizations in preventing conflicts, as well as in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Today, African organizations whose efforts are intended to be integrated into the African Peace and Security Architecture are taking on more and more responsibility. They are deploying more operations to respond to crises. Besides their military involvement, their political role in mediation and support has also increased. That is of course an important development. My second observation is that this mobilization by regional organizations is even more effective if undertaken with the various stakeholders, such as other regional organizations, States, civil society and, first and foremost, the United Nations. Two examples serve to underscore this: the strengthening of ties between the African Union and the United Nations, and the increased cooperation between African organizations and the European Union. France welcomes the strengthening of links between the African Union and the United Nations through the establishment of a United Nations Office to the African Union, in 2010, the establishment of liaison offices in New York and Addis Ababa, and the institutionalization of annual exchanges between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council. Regional organizations are also called upon to work together and support each other. As the Ambassador of Chad mentioned earlier, the European Union finances a number of peacekeeping operations — such as the African Union Mission in Somalia — as well as various elements of the African Union Peace and Security Architecture, including the African Standby Force and the Continental Early-Warning System. To date, the commitment of the European Union to contribute up to €450 million to support the implementation of African Peace Facility for Africa for the period 2014 to 2016 has almost been fully realized. Beyond the financial support provided, the European Union also provides civilian and military assistance — in Libya, the Niger, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Mali. The commitment in Mali, for instance, shows the extent of the European Union’s efforts, namely, as part of the European Union Capacity Building Mission for the Sahel and Mali, as well as its military mission. In that way, the European Union is helping the Government of Mali to reform and restructure its security forces. In addition, the European Union Mission on Regional Maritime Capacity- building in the Horn of Africa is providing assistance to several countries of the subregion, including surface and maritime border protection in order to combat maritime piracy. With regard to my third observation, in the context of increasing involvement by regional organizations, France supports the recommendations of the Secretary- General set out in his report of 2 January 2015, as well as those of the High-level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations. With regard to African operations in Mali and the Central African Republic, the Secretary-General has highlighted the complementarity of the United Nations and the African Union. The transition from the African-led International Support Mission in Mali to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, and from the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, serves to illustrate the comparative advantages of the two models of intervention — on the one hand, with regard to the African Union, the rapid deployment of armed forces capable of offensive operations, and, on the other hand, with regard to the United Nations, the establishment of a peacekeeping force equipped for a longer-term operation with a different mandate. With regard to the strategic review of peacekeeping operations, the examples of Mali and the Central African Republic have confirmed that it is essential for the United Nations to fully invest upstream in the definition of an overal framework for coordinated crisis management, both from the perspective of political and security considerations. That framework must be established in close cooperation with other regional stakeholders, so as to facilitate the implementation of United Nations standards, the training of regional contingents and to allow for better awareness on human rights issues. Lastly, the sustainability and financial viability of military operations remain a major concern. Today, the African Union is highly dependent upon outside contributions to finance its operations. It would be fitting for African organizations — as they have expressed their intention to do — to consistently take on increased responsibility for the financial burden of their actions. France stands ready to continue its efforts and cooperation with the United Nations and all regional organizations along those lines.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Nigeria. First, let me lend my voice to those who have expressed their appreciation to the Secretary-General for his very lucid briefing. I believe that the Secretary- General captured the very essence of our deliberations today. We know that the contemporary challenges to global security are increasing, both in complexity and severity. Threats — such as extremist ideologies, terrorism, the illicit transfer and proliferation of small arms and light weapons, humanitarian disasters, human trafficking, environmental hazards, drug trafficking, the criminal use of cybertechnology and global pandemics — are critical factors that have profoundly shaped international security in contemporary times. Today’s global security challenges have assumed a transnational character and are often beyond the capacity of any one country to resolve. That is why we need collective cooperation and collective action. While the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security resides with the Security Council, regional actors share and lighten the burden of the Council and provide an added layer of legitimacy to multilateralism. Regional efforts enhance the prospects for inclusiveness and consensus in addressing the challenges to global peace and security. The drafters of the Charter of the United Nations were very perceptive in envisioning a world where the United Nations and regional organizations would work together to prevent, manage and resolve crises. Over the years, multiple instances of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations — particularly in the areas of peacekeeping and conflict prevention — have yielded significant dividends. We believe that those gains hold a lot more promise for the future. In today’s world, international security has assumed a distinct regional and institutionalized character. That has been manifested in the advocacy for the greater recourse to Chapter VIII of the Charter, to which a number of my colleagues have referred — to create a decentralized United Nations-led system of global security management. Over the years, it has become evident that regional organizations are often the first responders to conflict situations. That point resonates more poignantly in Africa, where subregional organizations have consistently demonstrated remarkable commitment to regional peace and security by deploying peacekeepers to theatres of conflict. Several of the speakers who spoke before me this morning acknowledged that regional and subregional organizations have a deeper understanding of the sensitivities and sensibilities of the actors in conflict situations, the values and norms of their societies and the dynamics, as well as the root causes, of local conflicts. Those ingredients are crucial for fashioning a mediation strategy that parties to a conflict could more easily recognize and agree to implement. In West Africa, for example, the Economic Community of West African States has made landmark achievements in the maintenance of peace and security — particularly in addressing conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, among other places. That underscores the success of that organization’s framework for conflict management. There are other instances where regional organizations have relentlessly demonstrated their capacity to act in the interest of regional peace and security. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa has been unwavering in its conflict resolution efforts, especially in South Sudan. The East African Community is playing an active and constructive role in Burundi. The Economic Community of Central African States has made significant contributions to stabilizing the situation in the Central African Republic. The Mano River Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union (AU) have demonstrated remarkable leadership in the fight — as we heard last week (see S/PV.7502) — against the recent Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa. The establishment of the multinational joint task force by the Lake Chad Basin countries and the Republic of Benin — with the aim of fighting the Boko Haram terrorist group — bears eloquent testimony to the possibilities that exist for regional arrangements — not only to seize the bull by the horns, but especially to advance the cause of peace and security. The successes achieved by the Task Force thus far validate the regional approach to dealing with the threat of terrorism. Today, it is evident that the regionalization of global security is rapidly gaining remarkable momentum. In our view, it transcends a first response to crisis situations and an understanding of the people, the environment and the nuances of the conflict. Indeed, it is about all of those and more. Regional organizations — considering the contiguity of their component States — are vital stakeholders in the success — or otherwise — of peace efforts within their spheres of influence. In our times, regional States bear the burden of the first displacements. They bear the burden of food insecurity, the recruitment of child soldiers, the sexual exploitation of women and children and other consequences of violent conflicts. While at a national level those States may have limitations — in terms of their capacities and resources to address those challenges — their membership in regional organizations has allowed them to act in concert with other States in order to mitigate the effects of those challenges. It is important that, while we highlight the role of regional organizations in meeting contemporary challenges of global security, we should not overlook the contributions of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). I think that a number of my colleagues have mentioned that issue this morning, and it is worth repeating. The advocacy of NGOs — in terms of peace of security — especially in Africa, is well documented. Non-governmental organizations have made, and continue to make, direct interventions in humanitarian crises and other emergencies. They assist in the mobilization of resources to address issues linked to conflicts. The contributions of the independent humanitarian aid group Médecins sans frontières were crucial in containing and eventually rolling back the recent Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa. All of that demonstrates the importance of NGOs in the emerging architecture, not only in Africa but also in other areas of conflict in the world. It would therefore be beneficial for the continent if African regional and subregional organizations incorporated NGOs as significant and vital partners in meeting contemporary security challenges and strengthened their cooperation with them accordingly. A critical important dimension of the role of regional organizations in meeting global security challenges is the way and manner in which they cooperate with the United Nations. African regional and subregional organizations have worked together with the United Nations in the maintenance of peace and security in several parts of the continent, as we heard this morning. There are several examples of the potential for cooperation between the United Nations and African regional organizations. The United Nations and the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) cooperated in the deployment of peacekeepers in Ethiopia and Eritrea after the OAU had mediated an accord, which the United Nations was requested to implement. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, as in Western Sahara and Rwanda, the OAU was the principal early mediator. The United Nations itself complemented that mediation by deploying peacekeepers on the ground. Within the framework of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, the AU and the United Nations are working together to stabilize the situation in Darfur. The United Nations is also making substantial contributions to the African Union Mission in Somalia. All those joint actions and all those concerted actions and their positive outcomes demonstrate the value of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security. It is also essential to ensure that the comparative advantages of each region be thoroughly harnessed and mobilized in the pursuit of peace. In that regard, the triangular cooperation to which my colleagues have referred among the AU, the United Nations and the European Union (EU) is exemplified by the United Nations-EU joint programme of support to the AU on security sector reform. That is an example of the vibrant interregional cooperation that has yielded tangible results and has the potential to yield even more. In the face of the increasing gap between the demand for the involvement of the United Nations in conflict situations, on the one hand, and the ability of the United Nations to respond effectively, on the other hand, regional organizations become even more compelling as enablers of peace. That is why we believe that greater consideration should be accorded to expanding and enhancing regional approaches to the pursuit of international peace and security. Regional approaches, in essence, represent a critical bridge between the international and global dimensions of conflict. It is a bridge that we must continue to build, no matter how challenging that will appear at times. I believe that today’s debate is not only a call to greater action, it is an urgent demand to accelerate regional and international cooperation in a world that is ravaged by conflict, by humanitarian crisis and by disease. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. I wish to remind all speakers to limit their statements to no more than four minutes in order to enable the Council to conduct its work expeditiously. Delegations with lengthy statements are kindly requested to circulate their texts in writing and to deliver a condensed version when speaking in the Chamber. I would also like to appeal to speakers to deliver their statements at a very reasonable speed so that accurate interpretation may be provided. I give the floor to the representative of India.

We thank you, Madam President, for organizing today’s debate on regional organizations and contemporary challenges of global security. We also thank your delegation for the useful concept note (S/2015/599, annex) it has prepared. We also take this opportunity to thank the Secretary- General for the comprehensive briefing he provided. India supports the role of regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations. The role discharged by such organizations should, however, be consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The principles of national sovereignty and the political independence, unity and territorial integrity of States must be fully respected. It is also our belief that the peaceful resolution of conflicts should be the first priority — both of the Security Council and of regional organizations. The recent report of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (see S/2015/446) highlights the fact that peacekeeping cannot substitute for political solutions. No purpose would be served by having regional organizations struggle to manage conflict with military tools while political processes are either not under way or have not been concluded. Chapter VIII of the Charter refers to regional arrangements and agencies. There is therefore a clear requirement for vicinity — or geographical contiguity. It is important to note that Chapter VIII does not envisage any role for organizations formed on any other basis, whether of language, religion or historical coincidence. Any overly liberal interpretation of terminology would violate the Charter and would also be counterproductive. We would also like to caution that, while regional organizations can at times play a useful role in assisting the United Nations, the primacy of the United Nations itself cannot be denied. Speaking of Africa, the United Nations cannot disengage with that continent by subcontracting peacekeeping under regional arrangements. We would need to start worrying if the impartiality of peacekeepers were called into question. That, however, is a possibility that cannot be ruled out with the regionalization and subregionalization of peacekeeping. In cases where the United Nations does depend upon regional organizations for peacekeeping, it is important that there should be full consultations before arrangements are put into place. That would mean that troop-contributing countries should be invited to participate in the decisions of the Council in accordance with Article 44 of the Charter of the United Nations. This is necessary for mandates to be realistic, and also for obtaining the full cooperation of those who will actually be carrying out implementation on the ground. We would like to take this opportunity to call attention to the fact that the Charter has clear provisions for the Council to be kept fully informed of actions undertaken under regional arrangements for the maintenance of international peace and security. However, such information is not shared with the wider membership of the United Nations. We would like to request that consideration be given to including that information in the annual reports of the Security Council. In conclusion, we would also like to draw attention to the fact that at least two thirds of the work of the Security Council relates to Africa. There is, however, no representation of that continent in the permanent membership of the Council. That shortcoming seriously undermines the legitimacy of the Council’s decisions. Until such time as that historical injustice is addressed, the decisions of the Council will lack full force. The seventieth anniversary of the Organization, in our view, provides a most opportune moment to rectify that grave lacuna.

I now give the floor to the representative of Japan.

I thank you very much, Madam President, for convening this open debate. I listened to your statement with great interest. I also thank the Secretary-General for his briefing. The international community today sees regional organizations playing significant roles in ensuring international peace and security. That is indeed what was expected when the Charter of the United Nations was drafted, as evident from its Chapter VIII, on regional arrangements. In response to a suggestion made in the very useful concept note (S/2015/599) that you, Madam President, distributed earlier, I wish to focus today on the Asia- Pacific region, to which Japan belongs. I would like first to introduce the roles played by regional frameworks in ensuring peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region and then share with the Council our view on how to further enhance their roles. In East Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) has been serving as an ASEAN-centric ministerial framework to address political and security issues for more than 20 years. The mission of ARF is to foster confidence-building in the region. To that end, ARF not only provides a venue for candid discussions among ministers, but it also embraces a wide range of challenging issues such as disaster relief, maritime security, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, as well as non-proliferation and disarmament. I am proud to note that Japan has actively contributed to the activities of ARF by, for example, co-chairing and organizing a number of ARF intersessional meetings and official events. The East Asia Summit (EAS) is another notable example. Established in 2005, the EAS has been providing a unique forum for the leaders of 18 countries of the Asia-Pacific region to gather and discuss issues of common interest and concern, including political and security challenges, from a strategic point of view. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is also an example of a regional framework at the summit level in the Pacific. It aims to promote cooperation among its 16 member States in a wide range of areas, including political and security challenges. Since 1997, the Prime Minister of Japan has hosted the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting with the 16 PIF member States, aimed at realizing the stability and prosperity of the Pacific. In the Asia-Pacific region, a number of regional frameworks are therefore being developed in a multilayered manner, reflecting the political, economic and cultural diversity of the region. We are convinced that the further development of these frameworks is essential to ensuring peace and security in the Asia- Pacific region. It is from this standpoint that Japan advocates the further strengthening of the role of the East Asia Summit in the political and security field, and developing it as a premier forum of the region. Finally, let me refer to the supplementary role that the United Nations and regional frameworks can play in the Asia-Pacific region. In my view, in order to identify the most appropriate bodies to deal with particular challenges, it is important to examine the nature of each challenge on a case-by- case basis. Sometimes the direct involvement of the United Nations might be more appropriate, which is what happened in the case of Cambodia in the 1990s. Sometimes regional frameworks are more effective in handling issues on a region-wide scale, such as in terms of combating piracy and armed robbery against ships. Efforts to ensure nuclear non-proliferation in East Asia are a notable example of the fact that a dual approach, at both the United Nations and the regional level, is important. Japan will not cease in its endeavour to strengthen multilateral frameworks in the Asia-Pacific region and develop closer relations with the United Nations and the relevant regional organizations, with a view to realizing a more stable and peaceful Asia-Pacific.

I now give the floor to the representative of Sweden.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and my own country, Sweden. Let me first, like so many other speakers here today have done, thank you, Madam President, for having convened this timely debate on the role of regional organizations in meeting contemporary challenges of global security. The complexity of global security threats and the growing number of intra-State conflicts call for a greater regional approach to conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The Nordic countries therefore welcome this valuable opportunity to discuss the importance of forging stronger partnerships with regional organizations and thus building a more resilient global and regional architecture for maintaining international peace and security. Through the United Nations Charter, we have committed to working together to achieve peace and security, human rights and economic and social development. This shared responsibility rests on a web of global governance, of which strategic partnerships between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations are a fundamental aspect. Today such partnerships are even more essential, not least in the face of new threats with increasing cross- border risks through transnational crime; illegal trafficking in people, illicit arms and narcotics; and well-armed groups of terrorists and extremists. The Nordic countries have consistently advocated for strengthened cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations. The increased collaboration between the Security Council and the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council is thus a welcome development. Another good example is the close work between the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in very challenging situations of limited humanitarian access on issues ranging from conflict prevention and counter- terrorism to human rights, humanitarian affairs and sustainable development. There are many other good examples as well. In order to build stronger partnerships, we need a clear strategic vision. We therefore welcome the three reviews on United Nations peacemaking: on peace operations; on resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security; and on the peacebuilding architecture. We in particular welcome the fact that the report on peace operations highlights the need for better cooperation with regional organizations, and we wholeheartedly subscribe to the view that there is an urgent need to find mechanisms to ensure predictable and sustainable funding for regional peacekeeping arrangements that are consistent with the United Nations Charter and its Chapter VIII. African-led peace-support and peace-enforcement missions are today operating in the most challenging conditions. Better capabilities need to be built, enablers provided and personnel trained in order to improve the protection of peacekeepers and to ensure their capacity to protect civilians in harm’s way. In other words, and to reiterate what United States President Obama said in Addis Ababa last month ahead of the summit on peacekeeping in September, we need to develop a new partnership between the United Nations and the AU that can provide reliable support for AU peace operations. At the same time, we need to keep in mind that cooperation is most effective when guided by the principles of burden-sharing and complementarity. Partnerships must be forged on a common understanding of what each organization can do in any given situation and on a realistic assessment of one another’s comparative advantages and mandates. The Nordic countries have engaged in supporting the capacities of the AU and subregional organizations, including the strengthening of the mediation capacities of these organizations. This engagement stands a much better chance of producing added value with a system in place for predictable resourcing for regional peacemaking and peacekeeping. The Nordic commitment in supporting peace and security in Africa and elsewhere is to a large extent focused on tackling the root causes of conflict, instability and fragility. Effective conflict prevention and sustainable peacebuilding go hand in hand, which puts emphasis on the need for strategic coordination and a robust system for early action at a global as well as a regional level. We welcome the fact that such collaboration is already taking place today through the joint consultations of the United Nations Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council, as well as between the European Union and the AU. The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission can also contibute further by holding regular consultations with regional bodies in order to discuss early warning and shared conflict analysis. The African Union, the United Nations and subregional organizations can, and should, do better in conflict prevention. There have been some hard lessons learned by all actors in recent years, inter alia in the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Burundi. Sometimes both the United Nations and regional actors must act sooner. We would also like to emphasize the importance of the full and active inclusion and participation of women in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, as well as in post-conflict efforts and cooperation. It is the experience of the Nordic countries that women’s genuine participation in all aspects of peacemaking is an indispensable foundation for solid peace and sustainable development. That interdependence is also underlined in the new sustainable development goals and their targets for peaceful development. Local ownership is a precondition for bringing legitimacy and effectiveness into peacemaking efforts, as well as for facing other challenges — something we were strongly reminded of by the briefing on the Ebola epidemic here in the Security Council last week (see S/PV.7502). I can assure the Council that the Nordic countries will remain firm supporters in forging stronger partnerships with regional organizations, and we look forward to the follow-up on the three reviews of the United Nations peacemaking.

I now give the floor to the observer of the European Union. Mr. Westcott: I have the pleasure to speak on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its member States. The candidate countries Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania; the country of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina; as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, align themselves with this statement. I would first like to thank you, Madam President, for taking the initiative to convene this open debate on an important topic, and for the excellent concept note (S/2015/599, annex) and for highlighting the work of the European Union in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and mediation. The global and European security environments have changed dramatically in recent years. The conflicts, threats and instability in the EU’s immediate and wider neighbourhood, together with the long- standing and emerging security challenges affecting Iraq, Libya, the Sahel, Syria and Ukraine, are having an impact on Europe’s security as well as on international peace and security, and represent a common challenge to our fundamental values and principles. This changing global environment was outlined by the High Representative in her report to the European Council in June, which launched work on an EU global strategy on foreign and security policy. In May, it also prompted European foreign and defence ministers to call for a stronger Europe and a more effective common security and defence policy. Among the many challenges we see, there is a need to address in particular the challenge of terrorism and foreign fighters, maritime security and organized crime, including the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings. Those are in addition to the challenges posed by irregular migration, climate change, energy security, cybersecurity and space security. To address those challenges, the EU and its member States are assuming increased responsibilities to act as a security provider, at the international level and in particular in our neighbourhood, in order to enhance our own security and our strategic role in the world and to respond to those challenges together with the international community. Our response is focused on a comprehensive approach to preventing and managing conflicts, using both our Common Security and Defence Policy and the other policies and instruments of the European Union. In particular, preventing conflicts and relapses into conflict, in accordance with international law, is a primary objective of our external action, working together with global, regional, national and local partners. Since the adoption, in 2001, of the so-called Gothenburg Programme, the EU has developed an early-warning system, strengthened its mediation and dialogue capacities and established its own mediation support team. In that field we have developed close cooperation with regional and international organizations. We recently hosted a meeting in Brussels on preventive diplomacy and mediation, with experts from the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union (AU) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). That approach has helped the European Union to facilitate crucial agreements — between Belgrade and Pristina in 2013, and last month between the E3+3 and Iran on a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that is contributing to a comprehensive, long-lasting and peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. The Plan of Action also strengthens the nuclear non-proliferation regime as a whole, and that will be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The European Union will remain committed to effective multilateralism. That commitment is enshrined in our founding treaty, according to which the EU “shall contribute to peace, security, sustainable development [and] the strict observance ... of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter.” We therefore work particularly closely with the United Nations at the heart of the multilateral system. In 2011, the General Assembly itself underlined the EU’s special relationship with the United Nations through its resolution 65/276, which recognizes the EU’s partnership with the Organization. This partnership, particularly with regard to peace and security, comes under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, which explicitly recognizes and encourages that regional arrangements should be put in place. The Secretary-General recently built on that in drawing up his report on partnering for peace and partnership peacekeeping (S/2015/229), which we thoroughly welcome and support. As a rather unique regional organization, we cooperate very closely with the United Nations at the strategic level through our United Nations- European Union Steering Committee and high-level dialogue on crisis management, as well as through joint consultative mechanisms and arrangements for operational cooperation on the ground in places such as the Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia. In order to strengthen that further, we welcome the recent joint identification of priority areas for strengthening the EU-United Nations strategic partnership, which, among other things, underline the importance of EU member States’ contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations. Both the EU and the United Nations are currently engaged in crucial strategic reviews, in order to face the challenges more effectively. We welcome the reports issued by the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (see S/2015/446) and by the Advisory Group of Experts on their respective reviews of peace operations and the peacebuilding architecture, which reflect well the EU’s contribution. We particularly look forward to the review of resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security. Ensuring follow-up to those reports with concrete steps will be crucial. Similarly, improved cooperation and coordination among regional organizations is a priority for us. In that context, we are pleased about something that you yourself pointed out, Madam President, which is the partnerships we have developed, in particular with the African Union, as well as with African subregional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African Community, the Economic Community of Central African States and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. At the most recent EU-Africa Summit, in Brussels last year, the EU strongly supported African aspirations and commitment to ensuring peace, security and stability on the continent in the framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture. In order to improve the African capacity to handle crises, we committed to operationalizing the multidimensional African Standby Force and recognizing the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises as a transitional tool that is complementary to the Force, and thereby enhancing the AU’s capacity to respond rapidly to crises and reinforce its continental early warning system. Progress on that is to be welcomed, and closer cooperation between the AU and its regional organizations is of great value. In that respect, we particularly value the positive role the AU has played in the recent crisis in Burundi in recalling very clearly the principles of the African Charter for good governance and democracy. We have supported AU-led peace operations themselves in a number of ways. In the 10 years since 2004, the EU has provided €1.4 billion to AU-led peace operations through the African Peace Facility. I am happy to announce that we recently agreed to increase the Facility provision from €750 million to €900 million for the next three-year period, to respond to the increasing crises. It will enable us not only to continue our support for the efforts of the African Union Mission in Somalia and the IGAD-led monitoring and verification mechanism in South Sudan, but also to provide funding for the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram and the ECOWAS mission to Guinea-Bissau. But the long-term solution is to reinforce the AU’s own capabilities and fund all these. We provide additional support through the European Development Fund and the Instrument for Stability to build long- term African sustainability. The EU, in addition, has deployed a Common Security and Defence Policy missions in Mali, the Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and the Central African Republic, specifically to enhance the capacity of local security operations to deal with the challenges they face. Those include security sector reform, border management, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation, which we support through the provision of advice, mentoring and training. Where there are regional security challenges, such as piracy, trafficking and terrorism, we have adopted a regional strategic approach for the Sahel, the Gulf of Guinea and the Horn of Africa. Once again, those approaches are built very strongly on triangular cooperation among the EU, the AU and the United Nations in order to face the challenges. It is not in Africa alone that the EU has been active. We have developed partnerships with other regional organizations. Earlier this month, High Representative Federica Mogherini travelled to Malaysia to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum and to co-chair the EU-ASEAN Post- Ministerial Conference. In that context, allow me to reiterate our appreciation to Malaysia for kindly hosting those two important meetings. The European Union also cooperates closely with NATO, the OSCE and the Council of Europe. All EU member States are participating States in the OSCE and the Council of Europe, and 22 member States belong to NATO. The EU cooperates closely with NATO, both strategically and operationally, in crisis management, for example, off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Balkans. Most recently, the focus of the partnership with the OSCE has been the conflict in Ukraine, where the OSCE role is central and has the EU’s full support, including through considerable EU financial and material support to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. However, the scope of our partnership is much broader and covers such important issues as election observation, arms control and the many OSCE field presences throughout the wider European region. We consider the OSCE to be a central and inclusive platform for dialogue and confidence-building in the current crisis in European security. Cooperation with the Council of Europe is also important in the context of the Ukrainian conflict in focusing on support for constitutional and judicial reform. We are now facing a particularly dramatic situation in the Mediterranean, on the European Union’s own borders, which illustrates very well many of today’s themes. Since 17 April, in which more than 800 migrants died in a single dramatic incident, the EU has adopted a comprehensive plan for substantial measures to deal with the challenges faced in the Mediterranean. Dealing with migration is a common interest of all countries around the Mediterranean, in the Sahel and in East Africa. It is not only a humanitarian problem, but also a political and a security problem for our member States and the wider neighbourhood, and therefore involves joint efforts with our partners in the AU, the Rabat Process and the Khartoum Process and with the League of Arab States. The current situation in the Mediterranean is an example of how international organized crime is involved with the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings and how that can destabilize a whole region and put the basic rights and the lives of thousands of migrants at risk. In response to that threat, the European Union decided to launch in June, in addition to the naval operations Triton and Poseidon, operated by Frontex, another naval operation, the European Union Naval Force-Mediterranean, with the mandate to disrupt the business model of smuggling and trafficking networks. It is already engaged in collecting information and intelligence about those networks. Once the Council provides the required authorization, it will enable the operation to actively disrupt the smugglers and traffickers’ business, in full respect for international law and the Security Council mandate. That will also be undertaken in close cooperation with the Libyan authorities in order to ensure that the legitimate livelihoods of Libyans are not affected. We will also ensure that the rights of the refugees and migrants are fully protected, and we are pleased to have established close cooperation with the United Nations, particularly the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in that regard. Many migrants risk their lives to travel across the Mediterranean to Europe, often driven by despair, poverty, conflict or human rights abuses, which means that we also need to cooperate with the countries of origin and transit and to do more to address the root causes of migration. We will do so in close cooperation with the regional organizations concerned. On 11 and 12 November, we will hold a conference with African partners in Valletta to build our common vision and agree on common action on migration to tackle the challenge in the Mediterranean. A high-level meeting on the Western Balkan route is also envisaged. Furthermore, the EU supports underpinning regional cooperation frameworks, such as the Rabat and Khartoum Processes, and provides increased support to border management across Africa and more widely, including through the Common Security and Defence Policy missions, such as that in the Niger. The EU also supports the development of return and migration management capacities, including at the regional level in Western Africa. But above all, we want to look at addressing the root causes of migration and, where we can, to support local efforts to tackle conflicts and human rights abuses and to improve the socioeconomic conditions in the countries of origin so that people are no longer feel forced to flee their own countries. Finally, Madam President, I thank you very much for your time and for the opportunity to contribute to this debate from the EU’s perspective.

I now give the floor to Mr. Ayebare. Mr. Ayebare: At the outset, Madam President, allow me to thank you for convening this important debate of the Security Council, which comes at a time of growing awareness of the critical role of regional organizations in responding to the changing dynamics in the nature of conflicts and security threats. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his briefing and for his commitment to supporting the African Union (AU) partnership with the United Nations. The quest for peace and security remains the most pressing among the many challenges facing Africa. Over the past two decades, the continent has witnessed a new set of threats, which include governance-related intra-State conflicts and violence, terrorism and transnational crime, piracy on both the East and West coasts of Africa, border disputes and the effects of climate change, as well as environmental degradation. To address those challenges, sustained efforts have been made to strengthen the capacities of the African Union to respond to the ever-changing nature of the threats we face. With the entry into force of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union in 2003, the response to conflicts and threats has been greatly enhanced. Cooperation between the Security Council and the Peace and Security Council is of crucial importance in that regard. In addition to the Peace and Security Council, other pillars of the African Peace and Security Architecture are already in place, including the Panel of the Wise, the Continental Early Warning System, the African Standby Force and the African Peace Fund. I am happy to report that four pillars of the African Peace and Security Architecture are already in place. Efforts to operationalize the African Standby Force are ongoing, and we expect that to be completed by the end of the year. An exercise code-named Amani Africa II is expected to take place in South Africa from 19 October to 7 November to validate the full operational capacity and rapid deployment capacity of the Standby Force. The lessons learned from the peace operations in Mali and the Central African Republic led to the establishment of the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC), which will significantly strengthen both the speed and robustness of our response to emergency situations. By January 2014, ACIRC had been declared ready for operation. Member States of the AU handed over the authorization of its operation to the African Union Peace and Security Council. The operationalization of ACIRC will not in any way undermine the full operationalization of the African Standby Force. Between 2013 and 2015, an average of 30,000 to 40,000 uniformed personnel were serving annually in African-led peace support operations. In addition, Africa contributed personnel to United Nations peacekeeping missions, increasing from 10,000 personnel in 2003 to over 35,000 in 2014, the majority of whom have been deployed on the African continent. Since 2002, the AU has deployed a number of peace support operations in response to conflict situations on the continent, notably in Burundi, Darfur, Mali, the Central African Republic and Somalia. The stabilization efforts carried out by those missions and the sacrifices made by their personnel have greatly paved the way for, and facilitated the task of, the United Nations missions that eventually took over. In the case of Somalia, our engagement in support of the Somali Federal Government gave hope to the Somali people, as the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) continues to expand and consolidate liberated areas. Let me take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to our partners, including the United Nations, the European Union and others, in ensuring AMISOM’s effectiveness. Let me mention cooperation with the regional economic communities and regional mechanisms in consolidating peace and security in Africa. Since the signing of the memorandum of understanding among the regional organizations and the African Union in 2008, a lot has been achieved in the coordination of peacekeeping operations and prevention initiatives, such as joint election observation, diplomatic missions and secretariat-secretariat cooperation. However, experience in recent years has amply shown that one of the greatest constraints faced by the African Union and its regional mechanisms is the matter of flexible, sustainable and predictable sources of funding for their peace efforts. It is therefore crucial that an appropriate solution be urgently found to that question, bearing in mind that the Security Council has the primary responsibility in the maintenance of international peace and security. The AU is striving to have its member States increase their contributions so that outside support, including from the United Nations and our partners, is truly complementary. In that context, the African Union welcomes the report of the High-level Panel on Peace Operations (see S/2015/446), chaired by Mr. José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste, and looks forward to its formal and in-depth consideration by both the General Assembly and the Security Council during the Assembly’s upcoming seventieth session.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

I have the honour to make this statement of behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). At the outset, I wish to express NAM’s appreciation to Nigeria for organizing this open debate and for the useful concept note (S/2015/599, annex) prepared for this important meeting. We also appreciate the briefing by the Secretary-General. The Non-Aligned Movement underscores the important role that regional and subregional arrangements and agencies, composed of non-aligned and other developing countries, can play in the promotion of regional peace and security, as well as in economic and social development, through cooperation among countries in the regions. We have always highlighted the importance of synergy among regional and subregional initiatives to ensure complementarity and the added value of each process towards their common goals, such as political stability, economic growth and social and cultural development. The Non-Aligned Movement has called for the intensification of the process of consultations, cooperation and coordination among the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, arrangements or agencies in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, including with regard to their mandate, scope and composition, which is useful and can contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security. In that context, we welcome the determination of the United Nations to enhance its relationships and cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, in particular the African Union (AU), in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter. The Movement also expresses its support for the continuing efforts to strengthen African peacekeeping capabilities and emphasizes the importance of implementing the Ten-Year Capacity-Building Programme and the joint action plan for United Nations support to the African Union in peacekeeping in the short, medium and long terms, in all relevant areas. The Movement takes note of the report prepared by the African Union-United Nations panel on modalities for support to AU peacekeeping operations and of the report by the Secretary-General entitled “Support to African Union peacekeeping operations authorized by the United Nations”. The Movement recommends the enhancement of effective partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in order to improve the planning, deployment and management of African peacekeeping operations. The Non-Aligned Movement welcomes the adoption of the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel and international efforts aimed at mobilizing resources and assistance in support of the efforts of States of the region to address the complex security, political and humanitarian situation. The Movement underscores that the strategy should be implemented in close cooperation with the States of the Sahel, West Africa and the Maghreb, as well as the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States and the Arab Maghreb Union. As peace and development are mutually reinforcing, NAM, recalling the United Nations Declaration on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), calls upon the international community to renew its commitment to NEPAD and other related initiatives for Africa, noting the efforts exerted by the African Union and other regional economic communities in the area of economic integration. The Movement also recalls international, regional and national efforts aimed at, and advancing, the goal of nuclear disarmament. In that regard, we note with appreciation the efforts of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), including the adoption of a special declaration on nuclear disarmament at its second Summit, held in Havana on 28 and 29 January 2014, and further underline the importance of CELAC as an international and regional actor and a contributor to the region’s further integration into the international arena. The Non-Aligned Movement also welcomes the entry into force of the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) as a contribution to the cultural, social, economic and political integration of the region, and the observer status for UNASUR in the General Assembly, which began in 2011. The Movement also notes the importance of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation as the only forum between East Asia and Latin America to enhance mutual understanding and trust and to increase political, economic, social and cultural ties and dialogue. We support the continued efforts and commitments by the member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to advance and strengthen the ASEAN Community-building process and to maintain and enhance ASEAN’s centrality in the evolving regional architecture, so as to better meet the challenges and dynamics of global development, with the objectives of maintaining and promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region. We also note ASEAN’s endeavours in developing the ASEAN Community’s post-2015 vision for adoption by ASEAN leaders at the end of 2015. The Non-Aligned Movement also welcomes the holding of the second and the third Africa-South America Summit of Heads of State or Governments, which took place, respectively, on Margarita Island, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on 26 and 27 September 2009, and in Malabo in February 2013, as an expression of strengthening friendship, solidarity and South-South cooperation between both regions. In conclusion, NAM firmly believes that peace and security, as well as economic and social development, can be achieved through such cooperation among regions.

There are still a number of speakers remaining on my list. Given the lateness of the hour, I intend, with the concurrence of the members of the Council, to suspend the meeting until 3 p.m.