Diplomats in Washington are working on a proposal for “overhauling” the UN Security Council, which might be submitted at the General Assembly meeting in September, according to the Washington Post, citing unidentified sources.
According to the Washington Post, President Joe Biden’s envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield is currently consulting with member states to “solicit feedback about a potential expansion” of the council, with the hope that this will “restore confidence in the world’s preeminent governance body by recognizing today’s diffuse map of global power.”
The Security Council is made up of five permanent members – Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States – and ten rotating members who are elected by the General Assembly for two-year periods. Under present criteria, two of the seats are allocated to Latin America, five to Africa and Asia combined, one to Eastern Europe, and two to Western Europe and “other.”
The US proposal is “evolving,” but it is expected to include six more permanent members with no veto power. According to officials who talked with the Post, Germany, Japan, and India are potential contenders, while Britain and France want Brazil and at least one African country.
Biden mentioned expanding the Security Council to “become more inclusive” and restricting veto power to “rare, extraordinary situations” in his General Assembly speech last September.
The US approach aims to alleviate the frustrations of its Kiev allies. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky asked last year that the UN designate Russia an aggressor and “remove” it from the Security Council, or “dissolve yourself.” The second alternative, according to Washington, is excessive.
“We want these institutions to work so that we can debate and try to resolve international conflicts,” an unnamed US official told the Post. “We must be objective about our success or failure over the years, but there is no doubt that we are better off with these institutions than without them.”
Russia, too, feels that the Security Council should be reformed. During an April session on “effective multilateralism,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the “current massive over-representation of the West in this crucial UN body undermines the principle of multipolarity,” and that the council requires “expansion of the representation of Asian, African, and Latin American countries in it.”
However, reforming the Security Council would necessitate a change in the UN Charter and the assent of at least 128 of the 193 member nations, as well as all five permanent UNSC members. The idea is unlikely to be ratified by the current US Senate, according to the Post.
“Any Security Council reform may well reduce the West’s weight.” As a result, this is a reality,” a UN ambassador told the site. “The question is, are we really pushing for that right now?” Is this just beautiful rhetoric on our part, or are we serious when we say we want to do it now?”
