India’s claim of support for UNSC seat belied

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/16/indias-claim-of-support-for-unsc-seat-belied.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 15: Despite India’s two-year efforts to secure a permanent seat in the powerful UN Security Council alongwith Brazil, Germany and Japan most UN members remain unconvinced by the rationale given by the so-called G-4 countries.

Many UN delegates say G-4 countries seeking expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership have even failed to prove their last year’s claim of having enlisted the support of 80 countries — a figure below the majority required for any proposal to succeed in the 193-member General Assembly.

Pakistan and Italy representing the Uniting for Consensus group (UFC) have maintained that expansion in the UN Security Council should be in the non-permanent category in order to allow all countries, including small and under-developed, to become part of the process. They want an inclusive strategy which is transparent and accountable. They have sought a consensus on the issue.

Pakistan’s delegate Raza Bashir Tarar has, in his statement, stressed the need for ‘compromise and flexibility’ among competing groups to move the reform process forward.

He asked if the India-led group wished to add 4 to 6 new permanent members, how a workable ratio between permanent and non-permanent members could be maintained especially if the council’s size was to be restricted to about 25? There was no response from the group’s leaders.

A number of questions about the group’s position on other issues, especially veto power, also remained unanswered. Pakistan and Italy lead the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group and oppose any addition to the Council’s permanent members, but seek enlargement of the non-permanent category, with longer terms.

Despite a general agreement on enlarging the council, as part of the UN reform process, member states remain sharply divided over details, most of them sticking to their positions.

Mr Tarar, who is the deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said the India-backed initiative “squeezes the space for non-permanent members and compromises the notion of accountability and democratisation of the Security Council”.