S/PV.9627 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council will proceed to the consideration of its annual report to the General Assembly for the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023. The draft report has been provided to the members of the Council. The introduction to the draft report was prepared by the delegation of the United Kingdom, with the participation of the other members of the Council. The body of the report was prepared by the Secretariat. I would like to express my appreciation to the United Kingdom and the Secretariat for their respective contributions. I would also like to point out that the draft report was prepared in accordance with the notes by the President of 30 August 2017 (S/2017/507) and 27 December 2019 (S/2019/997). I now give the floor to the representative of the United Kingdom, whose delegation was responsible for drafting the introduction to this year’s annual report.

The United Kingdom is honoured to present the draft annual report of the Security Council to the General Assembly. While we had the responsibility of preparing the introduction to the report, this report is a collective effort by both the 2023 Council membership and the Secretariat. We thank all Council members for their constructive contributions. We would also like to thank the Secretariat, in particular the Security Council Affairs Division, for their invaluable support and editorial advice throughout the drafting process, as well as their preparation of the body of the report. As per convention, the annual report is a consensus document. To reach agreement on the summary of the Council’s activities is not always easy, and this was particularly true given the trends in the Council throughout 2023. While there was a considerable rise in the number of hours spent here in the Council Chamber, including a 47 per cent increase in the number of additional, unscheduled meetings compared to 2022, there was also a decrease in the number of agreed outcome documents of the Council. Despite this, the Security Council was still able to push forward meaningful action in pursuit of its responsibility to maintain international peace and security, including on pressing issues from Gaza to Afghanistan, from Yemen to Colombia, and from Somalia to Haiti. The Council carries out that responsibility on behalf of all Member States of the United Nations, as set out in Article 24 of the Charter of the United Nations, and the annual report is an important mechanism to keep the wider United Nations membership and civil society informed of the trends and decisions made throughout the year. In an effort to enhance the Council’s transparency and accountability, the United Kingdom worked with the President of the General Assembly to convene an informal consultation with all Member States ahead of the drafting process. Taking into account the feedback received, we included additional information on the use of the veto, as well as references to votes on procedural issues. We hope that in drafting future editions of the report, we can continue that practice of responding positively to the reflections and suggestions of the wider membership.

I thank the representative of the United Kingdom for his statement. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the adoption of the draft annual report. May I take it that the draft report is adopted by the Council? There being no objection, it is so decided. This decision will be reflected in a note by the President of the Security Council, to be issued as document S/2024/387.