S/1997/451 (June 12, 1997)
In the fall of 1996, the General Assembly held a debate about the annual report of the Security Council. As in previous years, the Assembly sharply criticised the report and pointed out that it was nearly useless as a means of understanding the work of the Council. There was sufficient concern in the Council on this occasion that the Council began to discuss improvements to the report. With the strong involvement of the Portugese and other non-permanent delegations, the Council decided, among other things, to prepare monthly reports by the President. The Presidential Note S/1997/451, adopted by the Council on June 12, 1997, sets forth the main changes in the Annual Report. On the matter of the Presidential reports it says the following:
"There will also be attached, as an addendum to the report, brief assessments on the work of the Security Council, which representatives who have completed their functions as President of the Security Council may wish to prepare, under their own responsibility and following consultations with members of the Council for the month during which they presided and which should not be considered as representing the views of the Council."
The note went on to talk about a disclaimer that would be published at the beginning of the addendum that would make it clear that these reports are not the views of the Council. However, in subsequent practice, the reports are circulated in draft form for review by all other Council members. The reports my be the personal views of the author, but in their final form they have a certain informal imprimatur by the Council as a whole.
The phrase "may wish to prepare" unfortunately allows members to escape from writing a report if they choose to do so. In practice, certain members may use this excuse, even though the majority of members have chosen to write a report. It seem likely that in future, though, this report will become a standard benchmark responsibility for all members.
JAP
