August 2013
ACT - the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group
Better Working Methods for today’s UN Security Council
ACT stands for Accountability, Coherence and Transparency. It is the name of a cross-regional
group of 22 states aiming to improve the working methods of the UN Security Council. In
accordance with the Summit Outcome document of 2005, ACT strives to further and promote
efforts in order to increase the involvement of States not members of the Council, enhance its
accountability to the membership and increase the transparency of its work. In doing so, ACT
builds on the work of the Small 5, mobilizing a bigger network of states from all different
geographical regions for that purpose. The group is organized in several teams working on
different topics (multi-issues), on different tracks (multi-tiered) and advancing at different
speeds (multi-speeds). ACT recognises and commends past efforts of the Security Council.
But additional measures are needed to enable the Council to genuinely carry out its mandate.
In addition, the current implementation of measures already adopted remains inconsistent and
unsatisfactory.
Mission/Goal: The UN Security Council (UNSC), in its present composition, shall work in a more
transparent, efficient, inclusive, coherent, legitimate and accountable way, both within its own structure,
but also in relationship with the wider membership.
Approach: The group and its members strive to improve the working methods (WM) of the UNSC
through concrete and pragmatic steps. The group serves the purpose of coordinating all efforts on
projects in the area of working methods. On the basis of a work plan, the group members work on the
various topics of WM in parallel, either individually or in sub-groups, with the understanding that they
can advance at different speed.
The approach is multi-tiered and includes the following:
 continued direct interaction with the UNSC and its members, including through the Informal
Working Group on Documentation and other Procedural Questions (IWGD);
 promote the political momentum for WM reform within the UN (via joint statements in the GA,
in open debates of the UNSC and by other means);
 introduce specific working methods language into thematic GA resolutions;
 stand-alone initiatives on particular topics;
 cooperation with NGOs, parliamentary institutions, think tanks, academia.
The initiative situates itself outside of the comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council.
Topics: Possible topics may include: Monitoring the implementation of Presidential Note 507/2010;
supporting the improvement of the Annual Report; Peacekeeping operations and the role of TCCs;
Accountability, including the engagement against the veto in cases of the most serious crimes;
Prevention (Chapter VI of the UN Charter); the link between thematic and geographic work;
Transparency of the Council (PoW, wrap up, briefings, open meetings); Cooperation with regional
organizations (Chapter VIII of the UN Charter); Subsidiary Bodies (attribution of Chairs, Sanctions);
Penholder issue.
Membership / Organisation: ACT is currently composed of the following countries: Austria, Chile,
Costa Rica, Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Hungary, Ireland, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Maldives, New Zealand,
Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania
and Uruguay. Membership is by invitation. The group is cross-regional and structured as followed: i)
the various topical sub-groups under single or joint leadership; ii) a steering group composed mainly of
the leaders of the topical teams; (iii) Group of the whole. One delegation assumes the role of the
coordinator, currently Switzerland is assuming this function.
Reference Documents:
 The UN Charter
 The Provisional Rules of Procedures of the Security Council
 Presidential Note 507/2010 (incl. possible revisions and additions).
 The measures listed in the Annex of the S-5 draft resolution L.42Rev.2 of May 2012;
Background:
World Summit 2005 / Small 5: In accordance with the Summit Outcome document of 2005
(Resolution 60/1) recommending “that the Security Council continue to adapt its working methods so
as to increase the involvement of States not members of the Council in its work, as appropriate,
enhance its accountability to the membership and increase transparency of its work”, five countries
(Costa Rica, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland) teamed up in 2005 to further and
promote these goals. This group became known under the name of the Small 5.
Presidential Note 507: To a first draft resolution presented by the Small 5 in 2006 the Security
Council, under the leadership of Japan, reacted by publishing Presidential Note 2006/507 (revised in
2010) containing a set of over 70 good practices on working methods.
Draft resolution L.42 Rev.2: In May 2012, the S-5 group presented the General Assembly draft
resolution L.42 Rev.2, listing in its annex a catalogue of improvements of the working methods. These
include recommendations for a better information and involvement of the membership (for ex. standing
invitations for the chairs of the country-specific configurations of the Peacebuilding Commission; closer
consultation with troop-contribution countries, neighbouring states and regional organizations in the
planning and conduct of missions) as well as the recommendation to refrain from using the veto to
block action in situations of atrocity crimes (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity). Although
a large majority of UN Member States supported the suggested measures, the reactions of the
membership was divided on the question whether to present this package of recommendations in a
General Assembly resolution. In order to avoid a polarization of the General Assembly over Security
Council reform and after commitments by the Permanent Members of the Security Council to consider
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the measures in the annex of L.42 Rev. 2, the S-5 decided on May 16 2012 against submitting the
resolution to a vote.
ACT: The improvement of the accountability, coherence and transparency of the Security Council has
always been considered as an ongoing process. Thus, the decision to withdraw draft resolution L.42
was not an end, but a starting point for a new approach. Since then, delegations sharing the same
goals have come together several times in order to assess how to promote a common agenda. Out of
these consultations arose a new grouping composed of some twenty delegations from all regions of
the world called ACT, which stands for Accountability, Coherence and Transparency of the Security
Council. ACT recognises the Security Council as master of its own procedures and commends its past
efforts to improve and adapt its working methods, notably through the adoption of Presidential Note
2006/507, its update 2010/507 and through the efforts of the Informal Working Group on
Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWGD). At the same time, ACT remains convinced
that additional measures are needed as well as that current implementation of the measures already
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adopted remains inconsistent and therefore unsatisfactory. ACT was officially launched on May 2
2013 at the UN headquarters, New York.