New Delhi
21 June 2005
A clearer indication of the 'fate' of United Nations reform in general
and in particular the draft resolution for expanding the Security Council to include G-4
countries could emerge later this week when US Under Secretary of State Nicholas
Burns arrives in New Delhi. He would be travelling to India from London where he would
have held meetings with his counterparts from the other permanent UNSC member-
states and discussed the UN reforms.
By then, India too would have had a fair assessment of the status of the draft
resolution as the meeting of the foreign ministers of the G-4 countries would have
concluded in Brussels. External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, who addressed the Italian
Senate yesterday, has curtailed his visit to that country to be present for Wednesday's
meeting in Brussels.
The US official's visit, ostensibly to discuss developments in the India-US
strategic partnership in advance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Washington visit,
comes at a time when the US has indicated that it would be amenable to supporting the
candidature of one other G-4 country besides Japan. Washington also laid down certain
criteria that on the face of it would seem to favour India for the second permanent seat in
an expended UNSC.
Interestingly, while a June 17 announcement by the US Department of State
details Washington's priorities for a stronger, more effective UN, it does not dwell on the
specifics pertaining to Security Council reform. It only mentioned that the US was open to
UNSC reform and expansion "as one element of an overall agenda for UN reform". It
went on to advocate "a criteria-based approach under which potential members must be
supremely well qualified. We have to look, of course, at the overall geographic balance
of the Council, but effectiveness remains the benchmark for any reform."
However, the broad hints dropped by the US in this regard have not gone down
well the certain members of the G-4 as those are being seen as an attempt to divide the
grouping and to restrict the expansion of the UNSC by ony two as opposed to the draft
resolution moved by the G-4. Although the G-4 members have reiterated that they would
continue to extend support to their candidatures, Brazil has observed that it was
imperative that 'geographical balance' be maintained for true democratisation of the UN.
Brazil, which is the lone contender for a permanent UNSC seat from South
America, feels the 'Japan+1' formulation proposed by the US would only delay the UN
reforms and block the aspirations of the developing world.
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