G4 Ministerial Joint Press Statement

On 22 September 2021 the Foreign Ministers of the G4 countries, H.E. Mr. Carlos Alberto Franco França, Foreign Minister of Brazil, H.E. Mr. Heiko Maas, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany, H.E. Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs of India, and H.E. Mr. Motegi Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, met during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The Ministers underlined the urgency of reforming the Security Council in order to make it more legitimate, effective and representative by reflecting the reality of the contemporary world including developing countries and major contributors.

The G4 Ministers, reviewing the work of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, welcomed that the Assembly reflected in its Decision 75/569 the commitment of all Heads of State and Government to “instill new life in the discussions on the reform of the Security Council”, as mentioned in the Declaration on the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (A/RES/75/1). In this context, the Ministers also welcomed the readiness of the UN Secretary-General to provide necessary support, as expressed in his report “Our Common Agenda” of 10th September 2021. The Ministers further welcomed that the Elements Paper prepared by the Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) has evolved, with partial attributions of the positions and proposals of Member States.

The G4 Ministers expressed their strong determination to work towards launching text-based negotiations without further delay in the IGN, on the basis of a single document, with a view to its adoption in the General Assembly. The Ministers instructed, to this end, their delegations to the United Nations to support the efforts of the President of the 76th General Assembly and the Chair(s) of the IGN, and to identify ways to develop a single consolidated text as a basis for a draft resolution. The Ministers decided to intensify dialogue with all interested Member States, including other reform- minded countries and groups, in order to seek concrete outcomes in a definite time-frame.

The G4 Ministers reaffirmed that it is indispensable to reform the Security Council through an expansion of both categories, permanent and non-permanent seats, to enable the Security Council to better deal with the ever-complex and evolving challenges to the maintenance of international peace and security, and thereby to carry out its duties more effectively. In this context, the Ministers expressed their strong support to the Common African Position (CAP) as enshrined in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.

The G4 Ministers reiterated their support for each other’s candidatures as aspiring new permanent members in a reformed Security Council.