Stakeout to the Press by H.E. Ambassador YAMAZAKI Kazuyuki on Adoption of Revised Presidential Note 507 (S/2024/507)

I just finished chairing the final meeting for this year of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG).
 
Taking this opportunity, I would like to share my thoughts on the adoption of the revised Note 507, the comprehensive note by the President concerning the working methods of the Security Council.
 
Since 2006, every time when Japan served as elected member of the Security Council, Japan chaired the IWG, and this is the fourth time. In 2006, the first Note 507 was adopted as a compilation of the working methods of the Council at that time.
 
Subsequently, in 2010 and 2017, the Council adopted revised Note 507, again under Japan’s IWG chairmanship.

Japan’s initiative for compiling the adopted Notes and relevant documents in one handbook is well-known as this “green book,” as the cover page of the most recent one is green.
 
Building on this legacy, this year we again focused on the revision of Note 507 during our chairmanship of the IWG.

After intensive discussion throughout the year, the revised Note 507 was adopted on December 13^th.
 
We are pleased that the revised Note 507 will be another useful contribution by Japan during our term in the Council. Let me highlight a few points of the revised Note 507.

(1) The 15 Presidential Notes on the working methods of the Council adopted since August 2017, including the recent Note S/2023/945 concerning penholderships, have been incorporated.

(2) The value of hearing the perspectives of a variety of briefers, as well as the importance of mitigating the risks and threats of reprisals to ensure the full, safe and meaningful participation of briefers is newly referred to in the revised Note.

(3) The acknowledgment of the principle of full access to relevant documents for all the Security Council members was added, together with the procedure regarding requests for access within the Council.

(4) The language on collaboration between the Security Council and other organs, in particular the Peacebuilding Commission, was strengthened.

(5) The inclusion of “special reports on the use of the veto” as one of the contents of Part 1 of the Security Council annual report to the General Assembly was codified.
 
Now that the revised Note is adopted, the Security Council will need to implement these provisions into its actual practice.
 
In order to assist such efforts, we plan to issue the new edition of the handbook in hardcopy in due course.
 
As to the digital version of the handbook, we will work with the Secretariat so that the “Interactive Handbook” website will be updated accordingly.
 
To conclude, I would like to reiterate Japan’s commitment to the improvement of the working methods of the Security Council, for a more transparent and efficient Council, even after we leave the Council.
 
It is our sincere hope that this Note will be implemented accordingly.
 
I cannot finish this stakeout without mentioning my deep appreciation to all the IWG members for their constructive engagement in the discussions and the Secretariat for their professional help throughout the year.
 
The consensual adoption of the revised Note 507 is a truly collective achievement, which all of us are proud of.