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A group that wants to block India, Brazil, Germany and Japan’s bid for UN Security Council Membership
It is a group of countries that do not want to let the UN Security Council expand to include India. Japan, Brazil and Germany.
Italy and other countries that oppose expanding the number of permanent members on the U.N. Security Council and have formed a group called "Uniting for Consensus" circulated a letter Friday outlining their position, a member of the group said.
According to media sources, the group has presented an alternative approach to expanding the council that calls for adding more nonpermanent members in response to the draft resolution offered last week by Japan, Germany, Brazil and India, which are lobbying intensely to gain new seats as permanent members.
The letter and an accompanying document, drafted by Italy on behalf of the group, was sent to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, U.N. General Assembly President Jean Ping and all member states and observers.
"We believe that this proposal contains the appropriate elements to achieve the objectives of making the Security Council more democratic, equitably representative, transparent, effective and accountable," according to the letter signed by Aldo Mantovani, Italy's deputy U.N. ambassador.
While Japan and the other nations known as the Group of Four want to change the structure of the council by adding six new permanent members and four new nonpermanent members, the opposing group proposes adding 10 new nonpermanent members who would be elected for two- or three-year terms.
Under the current system there are five permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States and 10 nonpermanent members who are elected on a rotational basis and serve out two-year terms.
"In the first election of the nonpermanent members after the increase of the membership of the Security Council from 15 to 25, five of the retiring members shall continue for one more year," the document states.
Under the proposal, there would be six seats allotted from Africa, five from Asia, four from the Latin American and Caribbean States, three from Western Europe and other states, and two from Eastern Europe.
This move comes on the heels of a meeting held earlier this week between the opponents and Annan, who is trying to convince both sides to reach a consensus.
While the G-4 envisions carrying out a three-step process, which includes changing the framework, selecting new permanent members and amending the charter, the opposing group is only focusing on the charter change, which it claims could become operational sooner.
Countries such as Italy, Pakistan, Argentina, Colombia, South Korea and Algeria are among those who oppose the G-4's aspirations.
Meanwhile, G-4 officials continue to meet to discuss possible revisions in the original draft resolution they offered on May 16 and say that their co-sponsorship now numbers in the "double digits."
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