Mr President,
Switzerland thanks the United States for facilitating the negotiation process and for its efforts to reach a consensus. We also acknowledge the commitment of the other members of the Council. Switzerland voted in favor of the draft resolution because we consider - as do the vast majority of other members - that it represents an acceptable compromise.
Switzerland regrets that the use of the veto by a single member of the Security Council puts an end to the mandate of the Group of Experts which supports the work of the 1718 Committee.
Targeted sanctions are an important tool of the Council for maintaining international peace and security. The Group of Experts plays a key role in facilitating their implementation. Its reports – which are reliable, independent, and of high quality, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the experts on the panel of experts - are an essential source of information for the Committee and all UN member states, particularly at this critical time when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continues to significantly accelerate its illicit nuclear and ballistic weapons program. Switzerland will therefore continue to engage with a view to finding solutions, this one or others.
This decision hampers efforts to monitor and ensure transparency in the implementation of Council resolutions. The arguments for the veto that we have heard will not convince either us or other Member States. At a time when the Group was investigating violations of sanctions measures, this veto only fuels suspicion regarding such violations.
We reiterate that arms shipments from the DPRK are a flagrant violation of international law and contribute to the undermining of the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture.
The Committee's mandate, however, remains intact, its task may be hampered, but as Chair of the Committee, it is our duty to consider how to provide Committee members with the relevant information to assess the implementation of sanctions, to inform all members about the work of the Committee and to support them in their efforts to comply with the resolutions of this Council.
This is what we will to continue to do.
Thank you.