AU, G4 agree on joint resolution
The G4 and African Union have agreed to present a joint resolution to the UN on expansion of the Security Council.
In a significant breakthrough, the Group of Four and the African Union have agreed to present a joint resolution to the United Nations on expansion of the Security Council after the African nations dropped their demand for veto rights for new permanent members.
After hectic parleys with the foreign ministers of G4 nations comprising India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, representatives of the African Union agreed to drop their demand for a veto rights for new permanent members of the expanded Security Council.
The G4 reciprocated by acceding to the AU proposal to add five new non-permanent members of the Security Council, making it a 26-member body. The G4 wanted to add only four non-permanent members to the UN body.
The extra seat will be floated among developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean states.
"The above changes shall be incorporated into a joint AU-G4 resolution on the understanding that continued support by AU and G4 co-sponsors as well as supporters is ensured, with a view to adopting the resolution, if possible by the end of the month," an Indian official spokesman said.
"We all want the UN reforms to go forward. We have also agreed not to press for veto. There is an agreement that the African Union would meet at an extraordinary meeting to discuss the way forward," African Union Group chairman and foreign minister of Nigeria Adeniji Oluyemi.
External Affairs minister K Natwar Singh, Foreign Ministers of Japan, Germany and Brazil Nobutaka Machimura, Joschka Fischer Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, respectively, represented the G4.
A spokesman of the African Union said everyone had accepted the objective that the United Nations system must be changed to make it more functional, more representative, more reflective of the reality and more democratic.
"We cannot amend the UN charter unless we have 128 members -- two thirds of 191 member UN General Assembly -- supporting our resolution.
"In the game of numbers G4 have 32 countries supporting them. African Union has 53 countries. Altogether the two groups have 85 countries -- still a shortfall of 43," he said.
"We are going back to our capitals. The whole objective accepted by everybody is that the UN system -- security council and other systems must be changed to make it more functional, more representative, more reflective of the reality and more democratic.
"To accomplish that we are all going back to our countries to work out a strategy to ensure that we have 128 countries supporting our resolution.
"We are committed to working together with all countries in the world so long as we have a group which is prepared to work with us. We shall work with them.
"G4 has shown a clear indication that they are ready to work with us. We are not excluding any group. We are already working with other groups because reform of the Security Council is a matter concerning all countries in the world, not just for G4 and African Union," the spokesman said.