UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly opened a key debate on Monday on a controversial draft resolution by Brazil, Germany, India and Japan to expand the powerful Security Council as part of a broader reform of the world body. Brazil’s UN envoy Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg introduced the draft from the so-called G4, which calls for enlarging the Council from the current 15 members to 25 by creating six new permanent seats without veto power and four non-permanent seats.

He said the purpose of the text for a more balanced composition of the Security Council “constitutes a historic step in multilateral diplomacy” and aims to bring the council in line “with new realities”.

At present, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are the only permanent and veto-wielding members of the powerful UN body, which also has 10 rotating non-permanent members without veto power.—AFP