The Security Council was entrusted with the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. The members of the Council are fully aware of the great responsibility on their shoulders. Despite the pandemic, we have been making efforts in fulfilling our mandate, and will continue to try our best to live up to the expectations of the peoples we serve.

Strengthening international cooperation is in the interest of both nations and peoples. The three pillars of the United Nations – peace and security, development, and human rights – are equally important, interrelated, and interdependent.

Threats to international peace and security are always evolving. During the early days of the United Nations, the core threat was wars between states. In recent decades, the Security Council has been increasingly seized with more complex issues, such as intra-state conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and transnational organized crimes, and supporting humanitarian access.

The world of today is very different from what it was when the United Nations was created 75 years ago. There are more countries, more people, more challenges but also more solutions.

Currently, we are facing diverse global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and rising humanitarian needs. Our challenges are interconnected and can only be addressed through reinvigorated multilateralism.

World leaders reaffirmed in the Declaration on the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations that, multilateralism is not an option but a necessity. We support the ongoing reforms by the Secretary-General. We reiterate our call for reforms of three of the principal organs of the United Nations. We commit to instill new life in the discussions on the reform of the Security Council and continue the work to revitalize the General Assembly and strengthen the Economic and Social Council. Building on the outcomes of the 2020 review of the peacebuilding architecture should be a priority.

The Security Council is committed to uphold multilateralism. Efforts will be made in the following directions:

The Security Council will firmly uphold the UN Charter. The Charter is the cornerstone of multilateralism. In supporting multilateralism, we will firmly defend the Charter, including the purposes and principles of the United Nations, and safeguard the international order based on international law.

The Security Council will be better prepared. Further efforts will be made to ensure the Council can adapt to the ever-changing situation, and respond to security threats. Peacekeeping operations and special political missions are important tools to maintain international peace and security, and we are working hard to improve the safety and security of peacekeepers as well as the performance of peacekeeping operations. Our working methods need to keep pace and adapt.

Building on the reform undertaken by the Secretary-General and the 2030 agenda, we need to promote and improve the peaceful resolution of conflicts, as well as the prevention of conflicts, peacebuilding and the post-conflict recovery.

The Security Council will promote synergy with other stakeholders. The Council is committed to strengthen its partnership with other principal organs such as the General Assembly, ECOSOC, and the ICJ. We will continue to attach importance to working with regional and sub-regional organizations, in all fields of conflict early warning, prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding, in accordance with chapter VIII of the UN Charter. We will continue to promote the agenda of Women, Peace and Security, Youth, Peace and Security, and engage with civil society actively to make sure they play an active and critical role in the decision-making process.

To the Security Council, the task ahead is immense, but let me assure you that the Council is firmly determined to do its part and fulfil its mandate.