UNITED NATIONS, Nov 19: Expansion of the UN Security Council was the most contentious and debated issue at the world body this year as it proposed multifaceted reforms to reflect the realities of the present, said Jan Eliasson, president of the General Assembly, at a press conference on Thursday.

“I have decided to be in a listening mode on this issue,” Mr Eliasson said, adding: “It is an important part of the reform agenda, but it requires careful nurture, taking the temperature and thinking of the question in relation to the basic issue at stake, that of questions concerning national security.”

Asked if the issue of Security Council reform was dead, Mr Eliasson referred to the debate on the question last week, with 67 speakers, and he said many good ideas had been presented, such as a proposal sponsored by Switzerland that had stimulated discussion and new ideas on previous proposals.

He said two aspects of the Council were being looked at in relation to reform: its composition and how it worked.