UNITED NATIONS, Nov 11: Envoys from 12 nations on Wednesday warned the United Nations General Assembly that the reported move to push the UN reforms agenda
that envisions expansion of the permanent slots in the UN Security Council would enrage the majority of world body's membership.
They warned that a resolution which is being proposed by G4 countries - Japan, Germany, Brazil and India - the contenders to the permanent slot, would undermine the UN reform process and "wreck it irreversibly", diplomats here told Dawn.
The 12 members of the so called 'Coffee Club', led by Pakistan, Italy, Canada, Spain, Algeria, South Korea, Mexico, Argentina, and Kenya, told Jean Ping, the President of United Nations General Assembly, that most of the 191 members of the world body were opposed to the expansion in the permanent slot of the Security Council.
They told Mr Ping to consider the letter of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who had also issued caveat against any such hasty action.
The reform process, the envoys reportedly said, should be transparent and based on the charter principles of the United Nations and comprehensive giving consideration to the majority consensus on the issue, otherwise the whole process would unravel.
They urged the UNGA President Ping to ensure that the entire reform package comes up for consideration at the world body meeting stipulated for September 2005 and be adopted by consensus.
The envoys maintained that majority of the UN membership wanted expansion in the non-permanent slot of the Security Council and to curtail the veto powers of the five permanent members in order to make the Council more democratic and responsive to the majority opinion.
At the start of the 59th session of the General Assembly, India, Brazil, Germany and Japan joined forces to work together for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
In the 15-member Security Council, permanent members included the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France, the only countries with veto power on the decision-making body.
The 10 other council members are chosen for two-year terms by regional groups.
