S/PV.9689 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2024/557, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements before the voting.

Malta is pleased to introduce, together with the United States, this important draft resolution (S/2024/557), which is a much-needed contribution to due process across the Security Council’s targeted sanctions. We are grateful to colleagues on the Council who worked tirelessly to help us achieve this and to those outside of the Council who have inspired this over the years with their repeated calls to improve transparency and procedures in the context of targeted sanctions. We also thank the co-sponsors for their support. With this draft resolution, an overhaul of the focal point mechanism has been achieved. The new focal point will directly engage with petitioners and gather information from a wide variety of sources to share with sanctions committees in a comprehensive report for committee-based deliberations and decision-making. The reasons for a committee’s decision regarding a specific delisting request will also be provided to the petitioner. This draft resolution is the result of months of negotiations and discussions and a clear signal of the Council’s commitment towards due process, but the strength of the new mechanism must be matched by the engagement and interest of all Member States, not only those on the Council. Relevant States and countries of citizenship and residence have an important role to play when considering the merits of a delisting request. That input will feed into the focal point’s information-gathering and reporting to committees, and the robustness of those reports is what will create the detail of the discussions concerning the request for a given person’s delisting. The informal working group being established through the draft resolution met back in the early 2000s. It will exist now to continue work on the focal point’s mandate to ensure it remains up to date and relevant and also as a place in which our sanctions experts can discuss a wide range of horizontal Security Council sanctions issues. The report to the Council prepared by the informal working group will help to enable the wider membership to remain seized of the issue and see that the mechanism in this draft resolution is, as we intended from the outset, to be a tool for all to use. I urge all members to support this important draft resolution by voting in favour.

I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2744 (2024). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

The United States was proud to vote for this resolution (resolution   2744 (2024)) and is grateful for the leadership of our co-penholder, Malta. It took four months of extensive negotiations, and it has been 18 years since the Security Council last took action on delisting procedures. And here we are. We are grateful for the collective efforts on this important matter and the co-sponsorship of over 50 other Member States. Today’s vote is a historic moment. With this resolution, the international community is demonstrating its commitment to values such as transparency and fairness in United Nations sanctions processes. While the resolution adopted today enhanced delisting procedures, equal effort must go into ensuring that sanctions are kept up to date and implemented. Security Council sanctions are an important tool to deter an array of threats to peace and security, including the proliferation of arms and weapons of mass destruction, as well as to counter terrorism and prevent human rights abuses. But for sanctions to be effective, it is critical that the Council take steps to ensure that the sanctions are appropriately targeted, including through robust and fair procedures for delisting when warranted. We have repeatedly said that sanctions are not meant to be indefinite or punitive, far from it. We fully support the need to delist or ease sanctions when appropriate, but we are concerned about a growing tendency to prematurely lift sanctions when the threats that prompted their imposition, in the first place, persist. In addition, the obstruction of the work or appointments of experts and non-renewal of their mandates are degrading our ability to effectively use sanctions. We need to have a frank conversation about sharpening the efficacy of this tool to advance peace and security, including by addressing gaps in its compliance. We hope that the informal working group established by this resolution will provide the space for these frank conversations. The informal working group will allow experts to dive deeper into strategic issues impacting multiple sanctions regimes and streamline solutions to complex challenges that have not been resolved in silos. We hope that this forum will result in concrete recommendations for sharpening this crucial tool for addressing threats to international peace and security, and we look forward to seeing reports on its progress. The United States is committed to bolstering the effectiveness of United Nations targeted sanctions in service of peace. We look forward to continuing to work on additional enhancements to address global threats to international peace and security.

Sanctions are the most powerful non-military instrument, under the Charter of the United Nations, for persuading individuals or entities, such as parties to a conflict, to comply with international law. They are therefore invaluable but must always be used with care and respect for the rule of law. That is why Switzerland  — together with its partners of the Group of Like-Minded States on Targeted Sanctions  — has been seeking for nearly 20 years, within and outside the Council, to improve listing and delisting procedures. The Office of the Ombudsperson for the 1267 sanctions regime is a success, as it offers the necessary procedural guarantees and thus strengthens the effectiveness of sanctions. We consider that independent mechanism to be an ideal model. The strengthening of the focal point that we unanimously endorsed today, however, is a big step in the right direction. We therefore sincerely thank the United States and Malta for their efforts in facilitating resolution 2744 (2024) and acknowledge the commitment of all members of the Council. Switzerland voted in favour of the resolution and actively engaged bilaterally with some Member States, as well as in the negotiations, with a view to promoting progress. Switzerland therefore welcomes that a number of ideas are reflected in the resolution, notably that the focal point should collect information, enter into dialogue with the petitioner, and submit a comprehensive report to the Committee. We regret, however, that the Committee will not have to decide by default on every delisting request. However, the current solution, whereby a State must undertake the procedural step of recommending that a delisting request proceeds, may be viable, but it will have to be proven in practice. The establishment of an informal working group to discuss cross-cutting issues will help to enhance the effectiveness of sanctions and their implementation. In that respect, we welcome that humanitarian exemptions are an integral part of the mandate, and that the working group can be informed by civil society and the private sector. While it is regrettable that the issue of fair and clear procedures is not explicitly mentioned in the mandate, we understand that it can be addressed if a State so requests. Switzerland will continue to engage with the members of the Council and the Group of Like-Minded States on Targeted Sanctions in order to implement the resolution and seek future improvements to safeguard the rule of law in United Nations sanctions.

Japan welcomes the Security Council’s unanimous adoption of resolution 2744 (2024), reforming the focal point mechanism set out in resolution 1730 (2006). This contributes to improving due process in Security Council sanctions. Japan hopes that the informal working group of the Security Council on general Security Council sanctions issues, which has been re-established by virtue of today’s resolution, will be a platform for meaningful and inclusive discussions regarding the effective implementation of Security Council sanctions. Let us recall again that Security Council sanctions are an important tool under the Charter of the United Nations in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security. In order to achieve the objectives of sanctions, it is vital that sanctions measures are fully and faithfully implemented by all Member States. Therefore, in discussions on general Security Council sanctions issues, it is essential to reflect the opinions of the countries implementing the sanctions, inter alia neighbouring countries, as clearly set out in the just-adopted resolution. Japan underscores the importance of discussing the effective implementation of Council sanctions, as well as how to improve monitoring arrangements, generally. Japan also stresses the importance of discussions on responses to violations of Council sanctions. Japan is fully committed to effectively implementing Security Council sanctions, and will contribute to future discussions of the informal working group.

The Republic of Korea voted in favour of resolution 2744 (2024) and joined its co-sponsorship, as we view it as a meaningful step forward in improving the overall United Nations sanctions regime. We especially thank Malta and the United States for their constructive efforts in bringing this much needed resolution forward. As clearly stated in this Security Council resolution, sanctions are an important tool in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security. Since decisions regarding United Nations sanctions measures are taken by the Security Council itself, we, the Council members, bear a responsibility to seek ways to enhance the credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of sanctions regimes in contributing to international peace and security. In addition, this is a forward-thinking way to reach consensus in the international community on the important role of United Nations sanctions. From that perspective, this resolution has achieved two major advancements. First, it has successfully enhanced the due process of the sanctions regime by strengthening the existing focal points mechanism. We expect that to significantly boost both the credibility and the legitimacy of the United Nations sanctions regime. Secondly, this resolution establishes the informal working group as a platform to discuss general issues related to United Nations sanctions. Through the group, the members of the Security Council can collaborate on further securing the credibility and effectiveness of all United Nations sanctions regimes, taking into account the unique characteristics of each region according to its own history, background and context. Furthermore, the Security Council should continuously explore ways to ensure that our decisions suffice for the intended purpose of responding to international peace and security threats. In that regard, we strongly believe that all United Nations Members, particularly Council members, should faithfully implement all sanctions, with the objective of advancing the credibility and effectiveness of United Nations sanctions regimes. That should be one of the crucial objectives of the informal working group created by this resolution. The Republic of Korea will continue to engage constructively in upcoming Council discussions to that end.

China welcomes the Council’s unanimous adoption of resolution 2744 (2024) and thanks Malta and the United States for their efforts as co-penholders. Since its establishment in 2006, the Council’s focal point for sanctions delisting has played a communication and liaison role regarding delisting petitions. The resolution just adopted further requires the focal point to gather views widely for the sanction committee’s consideration in decision-making. That is a useful initiative to improve the delisting mechanism and will help sanctions committees better understand background information and make responsible decisions. We hope that the focal point will perform their duties in an impartial and professional manner and that the Secretariat will make the appointment at an early date, after seeking the consent of Council members. We call on the Council to continue to optimize the focal point mechanism to further bolster the fairness and effectiveness of its sanctions. Sanctions are a special tool given to the Council by the Charter of the United Nations with the aim of creating conditions conducive to a political settlement, but the implementation of sanctions often leads to negative impacts on the affected countries, the humanitarian situation, peoples’ livelihoods and normal economic and trade activities. Some sanctions regimes, lacking a clear and viable exit mechanism, have become a chronic constraint on the countries concerned. In recent years, China has repeatedly called for the re-establishment of a working group on sanctions, to have a comprehensive review of the Council’s sanctions system. Resolution 2744 (2024) mandates the establishment of an informal working group on general Security Council sanctions issues, which will oversee the work of the focal point and discuss the challenges and problems of the Council’s sanctions system. In general, it is encouraging progress. We look forward to the working group’s guiding recommendations on improving the Council’s sanctions system to better serve the goal of maintaining international peace and security.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the African members of the Security Council plus (A3+), namely, Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and my own country, Guyana, after the affirmative vote of the A3+ members on the resolution that has just been adopted (resolution 2744 (2024)). The A3+ welcomes the unanimous adoption of this resolution, which seeks to strengthen due process in the operation of the focal point mechanism across the relevant sanctions regimes. While acknowledging that sanctions are important tools in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security, it is equally important that there be a defined system that reviews and assesses petitions of individuals listed to discourage perpetuity. Thus, our persistent calls for a defined review timeline were aimed at ensuring that the mechanism is continuously reviewed to reflect current realities. The continuous review of the mechanism, coupled with the establishment of an informal working group, represents a balanced solution that reflects the Council’s ability to forge consensus from diverse viewpoints. Through diligent negotiations, we have managed to transform the focal point mechanism into a robust framework that prioritizes due process. What was once a simple procedure has now become a system interwoven with safeguards and clear processes. The evolution from the initial text to this final iteration is remarkable, and we express commendations to the delegations of Malta and the United States for ably steering the process and to all delegations for the constructive spirit in which they approached the negotiations. We further welcome the elevated role of the focal point. Now, it serves not merely as a communication channel, but as a pillar of fairness in the delisting process. The provision for a comprehensive report with factual observations elevates the mechanism from a formality to a substantial tool for justice. The A3+ believes that a time-bound review of the mechanism would have been a useful addition to the resolution. We nonetheless hope that the provision for a continuous review of the mechanism will be fully implemented so that any gaps can be addressed early on. While the adoption of this resolution represents a significant step forward, it is merely a waypoint in our ongoing work. The true test lies in the rigorous implementation of its provisions. We must remain vigilant, ensuring that the spirit of this resolution permeates all facets of our sanctions regimes. In conclusion, the A3+ reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the continuous improvement of United Nations sanctions regimes. We therefore view this resolution not as an endpoint, but as the beginning of a new chapter in the pursuit of our collective endeavour for the improvement of United Nations sanctions regimes.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation voted in support of the resolution on the United Nations focal point for delisting (resolution 2744 (2024)). We consistently proceed from the premise that Security Council sanctions, as one of the most stringent and robust responses to threats to peace, should be applied exceedingly cautiously. They need to be irreproachably substantiated, and they need to be nuanced. The use of such sanctions as a punitive tool is unacceptable. They need to reflect the real situation in those countries on which they are imposed, and they need to help to facilitate the political process. However  — alas  — the Council has been far from capable of adhering consistently to that approach. That is related to the fact that in recent decades, the Security Council has increasingly — largely at the instigation of Western States — wielded sanctions instruments. Against that backdrop, we repeatedly stress the importance of the regular assessment of sanctions measures, with an emphasis on their adequacy, fairness and effectiveness, and on the need for their subsequent modification and for the negative repercussions thereof to be taken into account. At the same time, indefinite sanctions fail to meet those criteria. An important component is also an analysis of the attendant procedures, and that includes the process of delisting. That is a fundamental issue that is directly related to the practice of imposing sanctions. In the course of working on the text, my delegation from the very outset demonstrated a constructive approach and a willingness to responsibly seek compromise solutions. With our active participation and support, a consensus-based decision was taken on the establishment of an informal Security Council working group on general sanctions issues. Most importantly, that subsidiary body of the Security Council will not encroach on the powers of sanctions committees, and its activities will be based on consensus. It is important that, in addition to the study of the United Nations focal point mechanism on delisting and the conduct of the relevant review, the consideration of Security Council committee working methods and their cooperation among themselves and with the relevant panels of experts, that key Council working group will focus on assessing the sanctions themselves, building the capacity of States to comply with the sanctions and, most important, the negative humanitarian consequences thereof. At the same time, it is important to pay due attention to the adequacy and fairness of sanctions measures, including delisting. To conclude, I wish to stress that the resolution adopted today will, of course, not be able to resolve many existing problems related to the application of Security Council sanctions. However, we trust that it will be a step in the right direction and that the work will continue. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. There are no more names on the list of speakers.