America Urges U.N. To Resist Security Council Changes
BY BENNY AVNI - Staff Reporter of the Sun
July 13, 2005

UNITED NATIONS - America urged members of the United Nations yesterday to resist enacting quick, sweeping changes to Turtle Bay's most important organ, its Security Council. The decisive American stance took foreign diplomats by surprise and dealt a blow to four countries aspiring to obtain permanent council membership. America's opposition could cause a setback for Secretary-General Annan, who featured council enlargement in his U.N. reform package, up for debate in September.
The troubles for Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil began earlier in the week when their regional rivals formed a powerful opposition bloc. The resolution presented earlier this week by the four-member group known as the G-4, and several of its supporters, called for enlarging overall membership of the Security Council to 25 from 15 and suggested adding the four nations that compose the G-4 to the current five permanent members. Separately, the African Union circulated a nearly impossible-to-accomplish set of conditions to advance council enlargement.
But it was the American statement yesterday that captured the attention of the 192 member states represented at the General Assembly in its second day of meetings on the expansion topic.
Does this resolution serve to strengthen the United Nations? We believe it does not, Secretary of State Rice's senior adviser for U.N. reform, Shirin Tahir-Kheli, said in her General Assembly speech yesterday. We urge you, therefore, to oppose this resolution and, should it come to a vote, to vote against it.
The strongly voiced disagreement with the G-4 resolution could kill the proposal. If successful, the American move would at least delay any Security Council changes, taking some wind from the sails of Mr. Annan's agenda when heads of state arrive at Turtle Bay for the annual debate in September. American representatives to the world body believe that other U.N. reform measures should take precedence. They are also concerned about the effectiveness of the council, which often deadlocks on major issues even at its present membership level, such as the Iraq war.
The Security Council has been an effective body, and is more relevant today than ever, Ms. Tahir-Kheli said, cautioning, One of the first principles of reform should be to do no harm.
America would agree to adding two permanent members to the council, but so far has extended support only to Japan. It also would agree to add two or three members that would have a more prominent status than the current 10 elected members on the council, acting ambassador Anne Patterson said. Despite mentioning some flexibility on the makeup of the council, Ms. Patterson underscored that action on items such as reform of the Human Rights Commission should take precedence. After we see progress on these other initiatives, of course we will support security council expansion.
Perhaps sensing the troubles facing the proposal for council enlargement, Mr. Annan yesterday echoed the American sentiment and stressed other components of his reform package, initially laid out earlier this year. If [member states] have to focus on the Security Council reform, let them do that, he told reporters. But they should move on the other clusters as well.
The G-4 insisted that a vote on its resolution should occur as early as next week. Despite America's support for Japan, its ambassador, Kenzo Oshima, told The New York Sun that Tokyo will not split with India, Germany, and Brazil. There is no way that Japan will act outside the G-4, he said, adding, We would like to have a decision by the end of July.
This certainly was a wet blanket for the G-4 proposal, Pakistan's ambassador, Munir Akram, told the Sun, referring to the American speech. Pakistan, which opposes India's permanent membership, is part of united for consensus, a voting group that opposes any proposal for council enlargement before consensus is reached. It is composed of regional rivals to the G-4 such as Brazil-wary Mexico and Argentina; South Korea and China, which oppose Japan's membership, and Italy and other European rivals of Germany.
An African Union proposal, expected to be officially presented at the General Assembly today, calls for enlarging the council to 26 members, including five African rotating seats and two permanent seats that could be added to those requested by the G-4's. Unlike the G-4, the African proposal demands an immediate veto power.
Inside the groups, rivalries shift alliances. As yesterday's assembly debate drew to a close, the German ambassador, Gunter Pleuger, accused Algeria of adopting contradictory positions as a member of the Arab bloc, the consensus club, and to the African Union. Asking for a special permission to reply, Algeria's ambassador, Abdallah Baali, called the German statement sick.