– Check against delivery –

Thank you, Mr./Madam Chair,

 I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries the Republic of North Macedonia*, Montenegro^* and Albania^*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.

Mr./Madam Chair,

We thank the Special Committee on the Charter for its report on the work in 2021, and welcome the opportunity to provide our comments.

Regarding sanctions imposed by the United Nations – discussed under the item ‘Maintenance of international peace and security’, we would like to reiterate our position. The Security Council applies UN sanctions for a variety of reasons: to support peaceful transitions, deter non-constitutional changes, combat terrorism, protect human rights and promote non-proliferation. UN sanctions are part of the Security Council’s toolbox to achieve international peace and security. The EU implements those sanctions in a full and timely manner. Security Council Resolutions as well as designation decisions of the sanctions committees are swiftly incorporated into EU law. The EU supports work at UN level regarding implementation support, guidance and capacity-building so that sanctions can achieve maximum impact globally. The EU has also been active in raising due process considerations in relation to UN designations, in  light of the requirements set out by the Court of Justice of the European Union when adjudicating on UN-based designations challenged in the EU.

We also take note of the Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions, in particular of the fact that there have been no requests by the Security Council or its organs for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs to monitor or evaluate specific cases of third States affected by sanctions.

With regard to the "Peaceful settlement of disputes", we welcome the opportunity to discuss in the 2022 session of the Special Committee the subtopic “Exchange of information on State practices regarding the use of judicial settlement.” Focused exchanges of information, like this one, are enriching and benefit the wider UN membership.

Regarding the "Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council", we welcome the progress made towards the elimination of the backlog in preparing the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of Practice of the Security Council. We express our gratitude to those that have made voluntary contributions to the trust fund, including EU Member States, which enabled such progress.

Lastly, Mr./Madam Chair, we strongly encourage the Special Committee to reflect on its agenda and working methods. The Special Committee was established by the General Assembly at its twenty-ninth session (1974) to consider any specific proposals that its Members might make with a view to enhancing the ability of the United Nations to achieve its purposes, as well as other suggestions for a more effective functioning of the United Nations. In that connection, we note that a number of featured proposals on the agenda of the Special Committee for years, if not decades, are without concrete progress. This defies the very aim of the Special Committee and calls for a rationalization of agenda items to allow fruitful discussions on those topics where progress can be achieved. As we have said on a number of occasions, time and resources must be allocated where they are most needed to avoid duplications and inertia. The Special Committee must assess the agenda items in terms of their relevance and likelihood to achieve consensus. We need to instil new life in the work of the Committee, to make it more operational and results-driven.

I thank you, Mr./Madam Chair.

* The Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.