The following is a joint statement on behalf of Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Montenegro, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Delegation of the European Union.

As of today, the 1718 Committee Panel of Experts has officially disbanded. For the past 15 years, the Panel has provided objective, comprehensive reporting and analysis of UN sanctions implementation on the DPRK. We would like to thank the Panel for their tireless and important efforts in support of the Council’s nonproliferation efforts. That work should have been able to continue. In fact, this work is as important as ever. But the Russian Federation vetoed a resolution on March 28th that would have extended the mandate of the Panel.

The use of the veto in this instance has deprived UN Member States of vital information and guidance to implement the measures adopted by the Council and overseen by the 1718 Committee. The elimination of the Panel undermined the work of the Council under Chapter VII and made it harder for UN Membership to implement binding Security Council resolutions. These resolutions address the threat posed by the DPRK’s unlawful ballistic missile and WMD programs, which jeopardize international peace and security and put the global nonproliferation regime at risk. And they still remain in effect.

We reiterate the Security Council’s consistent demand that the DPRK comply with its obligations under multiple Security Council resolutions; abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner; and engage constructively in diplomacy.

Given the imperative for all Member States to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions, and considering the expiration of the Panel, we must now consider how to continue access to this kind of objective, independent analysis in order to address the DPRK’s unlawful WMD and ballistic missile advancements.

We look forward to working with all Member States to make that possible.