Global conflict remains at a historic high.

Complex and interconnected challenges, including persistent levels of poverty, the climate and nature crises, the rollback of human rights, and an increasingly difficult global economic context, show no sign of abating.

They are compounding geopolitical instability.

And within conflict, sexual and gender-based violence, including violence against women and girls, is one of the worst forms of atrocity.

The United Nations is central to efforts to confront these threats.

It remains unique amongst multilateral organisations in its ability to convene States and strengthen global cooperation to lift people out of poverty, eliminate disease, respond to natural disasters, uphold human rights, and prevent conflict.

It will be the responsibility of the next UN Secretary-General to confront and address these challenges head-on.

They will also inherit the important work, begun by Secretary-General Guterres through the UN80 process, of overseeing vital change within the organisation to make it more efficient, effective, and coherent.

To achieve a more effective United Nations, responsive to the challenges of the 21st century, the United Kingdom supports an ambitious UN80 agenda.

We want to see a UN refocused on its core priorities: maintaining peace and security, delivering humanitarian and development assistance, and protecting human rights.
This should include an expansion of the use of the Secretary-General's good offices for conflict mediation, including in protracted crises such as Sudan.

As our briefers have said, the Secretary-General's good offices function has, and can, advance global peace-making efforts through mediation and the facilitation of peace talks.

The Security Council's role, and its responsibility for international peace and security, is as important now as it has ever been.

The UK believes that a reformed Council, with membership expanded in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, would better enable the UN to rise to the challenges the world is facing.

President, such are the demands of the role of Secretary-General, that we must undertake a merit-based process to find the most qualified candidate.

The person best equipped to lead the UN over the coming years.

We strongly encourage the nomination of female candidates.

The UK looks forward to playing its part in the process and working with the current and future Secretaries-General, in our shared pursuit of preventing and ending global conflict.