Nations Seek U.N. Council Expansion Vote

By EDITH M. LEDERER
.c The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Brazil, Germany, India and Japan made the first
move Wednesday toward a possible vote next week on their resolution to
expand the powerful U.N. Security Council, despite differences with
Africa and the United States.

The decision by the so-called Group of Four to seek a vote in the
General Assembly without clear support from the 53-nation African
Union is a gamble. But the four countries believe their proposal
gives Africa almost everything it wants – and far more than it has
now.

The Group of Four delivered the resolution to the U.N. Secretariat
late Wednesday to be translated into the world body’s six official
languages, Japan’s U.N. Mission said. The translation of the
resolution is a prerequisite for official distribution to the 191
U.N. member states and consideration by the General Assembly.

There is wide support among U.N. members for expanding the Security
Council to represent the global realities of the 21st century rather
than of the post-World War II era when the United Nations was
created. But the precise size and membership of an expanded council
remain contentious.

The council currently has 15 members, 10 elected for two-year terms to
represent different geographical regions and five permanent members
who wield veto power – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and
France.

The Group of Four resolution would expand the Security Council from 15
to 25 members, adding six permanent seats without veto power and four
non-permanent seats. Brazil, Germany, India and Japan are hoping to
win four of the permanent seats with the two others earmarked for
Africa.

The African Union adopted a resolution on Tuesday calling for two
permanent seats for Africa with veto power and five non-permanent
seats. The Group of Four draft would give Africa four non-permanent
seats.

The Group of Four, also known as the G-4, dropped its initial demand
for veto power for the six new permanent members in the face of
opposition from a number of countries, including some of the current
permanent members who have veto power. Their draft would delay
consideration of granting veto power to the new permanent members for
15 years.

The United States wants a smaller expansion to 19 or 20 seats with the
addition of “two or so” new permanent members including Japan, and
two or three non-permanent members. U.S. officials have also made
clear they don’t want Germany to have a permanent seat; China strongly
opposes a permanent seat for Japan.

To win approval, the G-4 resolution needs support from two-thirds of
the 191 U.N. member states.

Even if the initial resolution is approved, the most difficult step is
a final resolution to change the U.N. Charter. That not only requires
a two-thirds vote in the General Assembly but also the approval of the
five permanent Security Council members.

Japan said the G-4 will request that debate on the resolution start as
early as next week. “Japan intends to direct its efforts towards
adoption of the draft resolution during the month of July,” the
statement said.

Germany’s U.N. Mission said it hopes the text can be distributed
Friday and formally introduced in the General Assembly on Monday,
followed by a debate and vote later next week.

Later Wednesday, the 15-nation Caribbean Community, known as Caricom,
agreed to support the G-4 proposal on the last day of a four-day
summit in St. Lucia, said Paulette Bethel, the Bahamas’
U.N. ambassador. She said Caribbean leaders set several conditions for
their support, including rotating seats to include small states like
those in Caricom.

07/06/05 19:22 EDT