LONDON 

Senior officials from the countries of the Uniting for Consensus Group (UfC) gathered Monday in Rome to discuss "meaningful reform" of the UN Security Council. 

Officials from the 12 UfC member states -- Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of San Marino, Spain and Türkiye -- held a meeting to address the issue, according to a joint statement by the group released by the Italian Foreign Ministry.

The meeting was facilitated by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), an Italian international relations think tank, and the Italian Association for the United Nations (UNA Italy) to promote a more representative, democratic, responsible, transparent and effective Security Council.

"Ongoing crises and the increased number of conflicts have highlighted the need for meaningful reform of the Security Council...Now more than ever, we need a Security Council that delivers effectively on its mandate," said the ministry.

The statement noted that the reform of the council is "urgently needed"

The UfC, bringing together 12 countries, is promoting the creation of additional non-permanent seats, as the council "doesn’t represent anymore the world dynamics where 142 new members have joined the organization since its inception in 1945."

"By adding new elected seats for regional groups including Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the proposal enhances equitable geographical distribution in the Council," it added.

The statement reiterated the UfC countries’ commitment to working together to achieve "a meaningful reform and adapt the Security Council to the constantly-evolving challenges of the 21st century."