U.N. begins intergovernmental talks over expansion of Security Council

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NEW YORK, Feb. 19 Kyodo -
The U.N. General Assembly kicked off intergovernmental negotiations over the
proposed expansion of the Security Council on Thursday, marking a historic
page-turner on the issue whose technicalities, as opposed to concrete action,
had been under debate for more than 15 years.
Representatives of the 192 members met behind closed doors in search of ways to
iron out differences over how to reform the council.
''Finally today we are about to enter into the substance of this reform,''
General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann told reporters. The reform
''will have to be resolved because we will not go on to be another endless
working group -- no more '15 years,''' he said.
''We have a new political momentum surrounding the reform and we are very much
hopeful that we can make substantive progress starting from now,'' said
Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Yukio Takasu.
While it is generally agreed that Security Council reform is necessary to
ensure equitable representation in its membership, views are widely divergent
on how to alter the current structure -- five permanent veto-wielding members
and 10 nonpermanent members who serve two-year terms on the council.
On one end of the spectrum is the so-called Group of Four --
Japan, Germany, Brazil and India -- who hope for permanent seats. On the other end
is the Uniting for Consensus group, which has Pakistan, Italy and South Korea among
its members and is seeking only to increase the number of nonpermanent seats. The
African group aims to increase both the number of permanent and nonpermanent slots.
In the past, the Group of Four lobbied intensively to gain new permanent seats.
But their joint resolution in July 2005 was unable to garner the necessary
support to alter the current membership structure.
Thursday's talks focused on procedures for the negotiations, based on a work
schedule presented by the General Assembly president. He earlier outlined five
key issues to be discussed at the first round of intergovernmental
negotiations. Substantive talks for the first round will begin on March 4 while
the second round is to begin in May.
The five issues are categories of Security Council membership, the veto
question, regional representation, the size of a potentially enlarged
Security Council, and the relationship between the Security Council and the General
Assembly.
Italian Ambassador Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata said any discussion on U.N.
reform should be conducted in a flexible manner.
''Flexibility is our flag,'' he said, apparently warning against any moves to
hastily wrap up discussions based on a two-thirds majority required for a
General Assembly vote. Italy and other Uniting for Consensus group countries
had been calling for U.N. reform to be discussed at the Open-Ended Working
Group where unanimous consensus needs to be reached for any decision.
German Ambassador Thomas Matussek said Germany is seeking Security Council
reform which is more reflective of the current political reality in the world.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States supports the expansion of the
Security Council ''in a way that will not diminish its effectiveness or its
efficiency.''
==Kyodo
2009-02-20 20:33:15