Kofi Annan pitches for UNSC expansion

The secretary-general lamented that nations whose assistance the UN seeks in times of crisis are not present when important decisions are taken.

Lamenting that nations whose assistance the UN seeks in times of crisis are not present when important decisions are taken, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said reforms in the world body would not be complete without expansion of the Security Council, a long-standing demand by India.

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Major regional powers whose assistance the world body seeks in terms of crisis do not sit on the table when the council takes important decisions, Annan said.

The United Nations reforms will not be complete without expansion of the Security Council, he said.

Annan made the brief remarks on Tuesdayin response to a question seeking his views on India staking a claim for a permanent seat in an expanded Council at a function organised for the release in the United States of former Indian Ambassador Chinmaya Gharekhan's book 'The Horseshoe Table'.

The book details the intrigues and complexities, behind the scene manoeuvering and power play by the five most influential countries -- the permanent members of the Council -- over a quarter of century that Gharekhan had spent walking the corridors of the United Nations as he rose from a low-ranking officer with the Indian mission to become Indian UN Ambassador and later Under Secretary-General of the world body.

Not only did he watch but also actively participated in the striking closed door deals and drawing up documents, including the resolution which ended the first Gulf war and imposed sanctions on Iraq in 1991.