Global Policy Forum

By Evelyn Leopold

The African Union's new plan to expand the U.N. Security Council by 11 members has thrown a proposal by Germany, Brazil, India and Japan into turmoil, diplomats said. At its just-ended summit in Sirte, Libya on Tuesday, the AU said the 15-member U.N. council should be expanded to 26 seats, with six new permanent members, two of them from Africa. It also wants six new nonpermanent seats with two for Africa.

The plan is similar to one proposed by four aspirants for permanent seats -- Germany, Brazil, India and Japan, known as the Group of Four or G-4. The G-4 draft resolution, already delayed twice, would add 10 seats for a total of 25, including two new permanent members from Africa. The G4 plan called for one, rather than two, nonpermanent members from Africa nations.

Without Africa's 53 votes, the G-4 draft resolution will not reach the 128 or two-thirds vote required among the 191 U.N. General Assembly members. "This means the G-4 will have to wait," Algeria U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Baali said in a telephone interview from Sirte. "The vote they were hoping to get in Africa won't be there."

Baali, a current council member, had lobbied for a rival plan, backed by Italy, Canada, South Korea and other nations, which would add 10 nonpermanent seats. But he said he was now behind the AU proposal because "it was adopted and the highest level and we are all bound by this position." He said Nigeria and Ghana headed a committee of 15 that would talk to General Assembly members.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan wants a decision by the time a U.N. world summit takes place in September, arguing that the make-up of the council, weighted toward industrial nations, reflects the world of 1945. Currently, the council has 15 members, five veto-wielding states -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China -- and 10 nonpermanent seats, including three for Africa, which rotate for two-year terms.

The African Union plan also insists on veto power for all new permanent members whereas the G-4 nations dropped their call for a veto after too many objections were raised. Instead, they asked for a decision on the veto in 15 years.

Germany, India, Brazil and Japan, after postponing their resolution from June until July, now have to consider whether to call for a vote this month. One G-4 member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the African Union position was so close to their own, they could only gain votes. He said the African Union also killed off rival proposals, such as no new permanent members.

Another problem is that the AU was unable to decide on which countries to fill the seats, with South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt the main candidates. Libya, Kenya and Senegal also have bid for the seats but it is unlikely they would be endorsed by the General Assembly.

The first step, however, is to get a framework resolution through the General Assembly by a two-thirds vote, without mentioning names of candidates. The second step would be to fill candidates for permanent seats. The last step is to change the U.N. Charter, over which national legislatures of the current five permanent council members have veto power. Among the five council powers, Britain and France support the Group of Four proposal while the United States, Russia and China have argued against a solution at this time.

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