UN General Assembly
2011

engage the United Nations in conflict prevention by tirelessly exercising diplomacy and promoting development. The world of today suffers from the painful consequences of interventions that have worsened existing conflicts. That has allowed terrorism to creep into areas where it previously did not exist, thus generating new cycles of violence and multiplying the number of civilian victims. Much is said about the responsibility to protect, yet little is said about responsibility while protecting. These are concepts that we must develop and mature together. To that end, the role of the Security Council is critical, and the more legitimate its decisions are, the more appropriate that role will be. And the Council’s very legitimacy increasingly depends upon its reform. With each passing year, a solution to the lack of representativeness in the Security Council becomes an ever more urgent need, which in turn erodes its efficacy. Former Assembly President Joseph Deiss reminded me of an impressive fact, namely, that the debate on the proposed reform of the Security Council is now entering its eighteenth year.