Germany fully aligns itself with the statement delivered by India on behalf of the Group of Four. To corroborate said statement, I would like to additionally elaborate on a few points in my national capacity:

First, I would like express my sincere appreciation to you, Madame and Mister Co-Chair. You have been highly committed, consistent and creative in exploring any potential pathways towards progress in this year’s IGN. We are grateful that you have tried new approaches – in particular the “informal conversations” in April – to infuse a stale setting with some much-needed fresh air. We are also grateful that we now have a revised version of the “Elements Paper” in front of us. It may still be an imperfect document – the statement Group of Four has already raised some specific concerns on our part – but it provides all delegations with ample opportunities to have their positions reflected.

This brings me to my second point. The G4 have noted that the revised version of the “Elements Paper” is still lacking attributions on a number of divergences. We have consistently shared our positions within the IGN, and have encouraged others to do the same. This is why we strongly support the Co-Chairs’ approach to seek voluntary attributions as a first step - because again, we agree that the perfect must not be the enemy of the good. But let me also be clear: If groups and member states have a position on specific issues, it would be hard to explain to anyone outside this room why this should not be noted as such. Also, noting something in writing is certainly not tantamount to “freezing” it – if positions change, those changed positions can and will be reflected on their part. We therefore strongly encourage all delegations to share their respective positions with the Co-Chairs.

On a related note, I would argue that this also applies to the “principles of reform” that have repeatedly been raised by some groups and member states. We therefore support the request by the Co-Chairs for further clarification on what exactly this entails for various delegations.

Finally, a short general observation: We are not conducting our discussions in a vacuum. During this IGN, a war of aggression by one country on another was met with deafening silence by the Security Council. We owe it to future generations to work towards a more representative, more effective and more transparent Council that can better live up to its responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. The least we can do is conduct our discussions in this forum in good faith and in a transparent manner, not be content to run around in circles but try to finally move forward.