UN states mulling Security Council expansion, veto

Dharam Shourie

United Nations, Feb 19 (PTI) The UN member states will
begin inter-governmental negotiations on the expansion of the
15-member Security Council in both permanent and non permanent
categories and also mull on the question of veto, the two
issues for which India has pressed for debate.

India backed by a large number of members, advocates
expansion in both permanent and non permanent categories.

India along with Japan, Germany and Brazil, called
Group of four (G-4), are strong contenders for a permanent
slot in the expanded Council.

In a letter to the member States, Assembly President
Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann identified five subjects that the
assembly will discuss separately – categories of membership,
the question of veto, regional representation, size of an
enlarged council and working methods of the Security Council
and relations between Council and the General Assembly.

Currently, the 15-member Council has five permanent
members with veto power – the US, UK, Russia, France and China
– and ten non permanent members elected by the 192-member
Assembly for a two-year term.

The G-4 proposal would add six permanent members
including two from Asia, two from Africa, one from Latin
American and one from European and other States and four non
permanent members, taking the total membership to 25.

With this, the working group which has been debating
the issue for more than a decade would become more or less
defunct though it would not be officially disbanded.

Pakistan and its allies do not oppose India or any
other member of the G-4 but insist that the expansion should
only be in the non-permanent categories.

Pakistan, Italy, South Korea, Mexico and Argentina,
known as "Uniting for Consensus," and their allies wanted to
stall inter-governmental negotiations by insisting that the
working group continue to try to forge consensus which it had
not be able to do for more than decade.

The discussions will begin with consideration of
categories of membership on March 4 and later in the month the
Assembly will take up the issue of regional representation.
The remaining issues will be taken up in April and in May, the
Assembly will have second round of discussions. The member
States will submit their proposals for intense negotiations.

The "Uniting for Consensus" proposal too would
increase the number of members to 25 but by adding 10 non
permanent members.

But a vast majority of States wanted to move to
inter-governmental negotiation in which specific proposals
would be discussed. In the working group, the member States
had been making repetitive speeches outlining their known
positions.

The change in the structure of the Council, which
reflects the victors of the Second World War, would require
two-thirds majority in the Assembly and then need ratification
by two-thirds of member States including all permanent
members. PTI DS