submitted 25 April 1996
"Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council"
31. The increase in the membership of and equitable representation on the Security Council has become imperative because of the need to democratize the Council and make it more efficient and transparent. The democracy that is currently being preached at the national level should prevail in the international system. It is therefore necessary to review the composition and the decision-making process of the Council in line with the above principles, as well as the relationship between the Council and the General Assembly. In the implementation of these ideals, it is important to bear in mind the need for equitable geographical representation with the emphasis on an increase in the permanent membership for the benefit of developing countries, in particular Africa. Ultimately, with the progress in the democratization of the international system, permanent membership and the right of veto would be reviewed and all members of the Security Council would be elected according to the principle of equitable geographical representation in order to ensure their accountability to all the members of the United Nations, on whose behalf they assume the primary function of maintaining international peace and security in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.
32. The composition of the Security Council should be further democratized to reflect the current reality that has emerged with the end of the cold war, the increase in the number of States Members of the United Nations and the need to improve the Council's functioning, methods of work and relationship with States which are not members of the Security Council.
33. In view of the growing role of the Security Council in discharging its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, conferred on it by the States Members of the United Nations, it is most important that the Council's work should reflect the idea that "in carrying out its duties under this responsibly the Security Council acts on […] behalf" of the Member States, as stated in Article 24 of the Charter.
This can be achieved by the following steps, inter alia:
(a) The circulation of the agenda for informal consultations;
(b) Consultations with States which are not members of the Council and with the regional groupings and regional organizations concerned;
(c) Briefings of States which are not members of the Council on the outcome of informal consultations;
(d) An increase in the number of members of the Council, both permanent and non-permanent;
(e) The review and eventual elimination of the right of veto. Current efforts to limit the use of the veto, as stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations (Chapter VI), should continue to be encouraged as they reflect the consensus which is currently emerging in international relations. If the veto is to be maintained, Africa might request that the additional permanent members should be granted the same privileges as the five current permanent members of the Security Council. The number of vetoes required to block action should be increased.
34. Without prejudice to the fact that it should have a proportionate number of non-permanent seats on the Security Council, Africa should be allocated no fewer than two permanent seats with all the privileges attached thereto, as long as the institution of permanent membership remains in force. The permanent seats allocated to Africa will be assigned to countries on the decision of the Africans themselves, in accordance with a system of rotation based on the criteria of the Organization of African Unity currently in force and subsequent elements which might subsequently improve those criteria.
35. In principle, there will be a need for the periodic review of the structure and functioning of the Security Council in order to make it better able to respond more effectively to the new challenges arising from developments in international relations, especially with regard to international peace and security. In this connection, the Open-ended Working Group on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council, established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/26, constitutes the appropriate forum which could be transformed into a democratic instrument for debate and reflection on all aspects of the reform of the Security Council.
36. Eventually, the current permanent members should also be subject to nomination by their respective regions and should be elected by the General Assembly. Such a system of periodic elections of the permanent members of the Security Council would ultimately make the decisions f the Council less subject to the strictly national interests of various members.
37. Africa rejects both the concept of a third category of so-called "semi-permanent members" and the proposal for a pool of some 20 countries form which the actors would be recruited on a rational basis.
Extract from Organization of African Unity document NY/OAU/POL/94/Rev.2 of 29 September 1994. Also previously issued as A/AC.247/1996/CRP
