Anne Penketh
Agence France Presse
March 20, 1997
The UN General Assembly president on Thursday unveiled a two-step plan calling for the
Security Council to be enlarged from 15 to 24 members, but without
a veto for five new permanent members. The proposals, outlined before a working group of the
185-member Assembly by Razali Ismail of Malaysia, aim to break the
deadlock on Security Council reform after more than three years of
discussions failed to produce agreement on the number of new
members and on the veto issue.
But although diplomats welcomed the Razali proposals as a concrete step which would create momentum for reform, the General Assembly president faced criticism from UN ambassadors, and some saw a difficult road ahead. Razali proposed that in a first stage between June and September, the General Assembly should vote a resolution calling for the Security Council to be enlarged by five new permanent members and four non-permanent members.
A second stage, by February 28 next year, would fill in the blanks by identifying specific candidate countries. Germany and Japan, which have been campaigning for permanent Security Council membership with US support, are not mentioned by name although Razali recommended that two "industrialised" countries enter as permanent members. In addition to the two industrialized countries, the other three permanent members would come from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The four new non-permanent members would come from Africa, Asia, eastern Europe and Latin America.
In the Razali proposals, the five new permanent members would not have veto power, and the current five holding a veto would be encouraged to limit its use to actions under Chapter VII of the UN charter which provides for enforcement measures. Under Chapter VII, the Security Council has the power to invoke sanctions and can authorize the use of force to settle conflicts threatening international peace and security.
At present, the five permanent Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- each hold a veto and are resisting any dilution of that power. A simple veto threat can force a change of position by other council members. The current 10 non-permanent members sit on the Council by regional rotation for two-year periods.
Razali also called for a review conference to be called 10 years after the entry into force of the reform, which would involve an amendment of the 1945 UN Charter.
A German diplomat said the proposals were the "first concrete step" towards breaking the deadlock, but expressed disappointment that they failed to mention explicitly Germany and Japan and would withhold a veto from the incoming permanent members. Italian Ambassador Paolo Fulci criticized the proposals concerning the new permanent members which he said would "undermine democracy and aggravate an already elitist, antidemocratic and anachronistic system."
Italy last year put up counterproposals, which essentially aim to block the entry of Japan and Germany into the Council, by focusing on new non-permanent members. Fulci claims the backing of 81 countries for Italy's position. Any charter amendment requires ratification by two-thirds of the UN membership, and must have the support of the current five permanent Council members.
British ambassador Sir John Weston on Thursday welcomed Razali's input saying "we have talked long enough." But he added that the proposed increase was "too large," and reaffirmed that Britain was opposed to any change in its veto rights. US Ambassador Bill Richardson on March 11 expressed Washington's opposition to any increase in the Council membership to more than 21.
