UNITED NATIONS, July 9: As the 191-member UN General Assembly is set to open debate on Monday on the G-4 resolution for the expansion of the UN Security Council, the “Uniting for Consensus” (UFC) group on Friday circulated their draft resolution seeking only 10 new non-permanent members re-electable for multiple years in the expanded Council. “The G-4 Japan, Germany, India and Brazil don’t have the votes to win approval for their bid for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram told reporters.
The G-4 proposal seeks to create six new permanent and four non-permanent seats in the expanded Security Council.
“With the emergence of the African Union’s resolution the UFC resolution and US positions, and the Chinese position, it is clear they do not have a two-thirds majority,” Mr Akram said.
“Combined with the African Union’s rival plan and the opposition from the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, it will be very difficult for the G-4 to get support from two third majority in the General Assembly”, Mr Akram said.
“I think the G-4 are already seeking an exit strategy as they fear defeat given the opposition,” he added.
He said that UFC approach is clear “we seek broadest possible consensus by the UN member states on this vital issue.”
China opposes a seat for Japan, and the US, which backs Japan, favours a separate formula for council expansion. Russia has not stated its position saying “we seek broadest possible vote — more than two thirds for any resolution.”
In a letter sent to member states the ambassador of Italy Marcello Spatafora pointed of that the UFC resolution aims at:
— increasing the chances of all UN member states to serve in the UN Security Council. Our model is fair, based on principles of sovereign equality, and does not discriminate among the membership.
— straightening multilateralism through an approach that seeks to preserve unity of the membership.
— creating a Security Council based on democratic vision of the United Nations.
—- accommodating the interests of all member states and concerns of all groups and political constituencies. This proposed model is flexible; as it enhances the accountability. It contributes to restoring the central role and position of the UN General assembly.
Two-thirds of the General Assembly must approve any resolution expanding the council, and any new members.
Then the Security Council must vote to amend the UN Charter to allow the changes to take place, and any of the current five permanent council members, including China and the US, could veto that.
