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G-4 nations to up the ante till Sept
Between June and September, India and the other G-4 nations will engage in lobbying for UNSC permanent seats.
Between June and September, India and the three other G-4 nations will engage in global lobbying, persuasion, deal-making and subtle pressuring after setting in motion a process they hope will include them as full members of an expanded UN Security Council.
The "Draft Framework Resolution on Security Council Reform", which calls for a change in the UN charter, was tabled May 16 by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan - which collectively call themselves G-4 - to rally support among at least "70 supportive countries" as co-sponsors, diplomatic sources said.
"We would then work on expanding the support base," a source said.
The eventual aim of the G-4 is to have a summit of world leaders in September at the UN's 60th anniversary session to approve the expanded council.
The four countries want the council's "composition to reflect today's realities, the increase in membership and the emergence of global and regional players.
"Adding only non-permanent members would leave the outdated structures of 1945 unchanged," the resolution said.
During his upcoming visit to Washington, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to raise the subject of US support for India's full membership - something New Delhi has not done before - although the focus will be on bilateral relations.
While reports have suggested that some of the four countries may be willing to give up veto power for a seat on the council, India's position has been consistent that permanent membership without the veto is no membership.
The draft resolution comes in the midst of media reports that the US Government was opposed to granting India and the others a veto even if they were eventually accommodated into the Security Council.
However, the source said, contrary to the media reports, the US position on the veto issue was "fairly neutral".
"They have not made up their mind yet," the source said.
When pointed out that Japan's position as the second largest donor to the UN after the US was the main factor in Washington explicitly supporting its candidature, one diplomatic source said: "The criteria about permanent membership cannot be only financial. India has been an important player in the UN system since its inception.
"We have been greatly helpful in the peacekeeping operations and any other action that happens under the UN umbrella. The latest example was the kind of logistical help we provided during the tsunami disaster.
"Even as India was fighting its own tsunami devastation, it sent ships to Banda Aceh (Indonesia) and Sri Lanka."
The resolution called for expansion of the Security Council to 25 seats. Under the plan the number of permanent members would increase from its current five to 11 and the number of rotating members to 14 from 10. The four countries expect to have the General Assembly vote on the proposed change in June.
There are serious dissensions within the five permanent members on whom to back. China, for instance, opposes Japan's candidature on the ground that it should formally apologise for atrocities committed against China during World War II.
The US is opposed to Germany because of its stand against the Iraq invasion. Italy is also pitted against Germany. Pakistan opposes India's candidature, and Argentina wants to keep out Brazil.
Pakistan and Italy have proposed more non-permanent seats that include longer stints on the council and a chance for re-election.
The US State Department said on Wednesday that Washington had only endorsed Japan for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, having made "no further judgments about who should or should not be added".
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, however, said the US would consider "the various proposals that are out there", including one being jointly lobbied for by India, Germany, Japan and Brazil.
