Security Council Expansion Backed By UN Chief Ban Ki-moon

December 1, 2010 Updated: October 1, 2015

DEADLOCK: The United Nations Security Council sits in discussion at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Nov. 16. While most U.N. members support reforming the antiquated body, there is little agreement on how that reform should take shape. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)
DEADLOCK: The United Nations Security Council sits in discussion at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Nov. 16. While most U.N. members support reforming the antiquated body, there is little agreement on how that reform should take shape. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he supports inviting more permanent members to the U.N. Security Council to better reflect contemporary global realities and challenges of the 21st century. Ban made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Radio Free Europe on Nov. 30. Despite the positive tenor of his remarks, however, genuine progress toward reform seems as elusive as ever.

Security Council (SC) reform and enlargement has been debated by the U.N. General Assembly for almost two decades with no significant progress. The main argument for reform being that the Council’s working methods and composition belong to a bygone era.

The SC has five permanent members—the United States, France, England, Russia, and China—each of which wields veto power over any council decisions. In addition, there are 10 rotating members elected for two-year terms.

The U.N. was founded in 1945 at the end of World War II and since then has expanded from 51 original members to the 192 member countries.

Reforms are needed, it is argued, because global realities have changed dramatically, while the council’s workings and highly powerful permanent membership has not changed since the body’s first meeting in 1946.

“I would say that there are almost unanimous views that the Security Council should be reformed,” Ban said in the radio interview.

“However, how to reform, what is [the] size of the expansion of reform, who should be represented in the Security Council—that is something which needs to be determined by the member states through negotiations,” he added.

Sticking points

While there may be near universal agreement that the institution needs to be reformed, the problem has always been getting its members to agree on the nature and even process for that reform.

The permanent members, with veto power over such reform, make the process especially complicated because of the disagreements among the permanent members over new aspirants.

Germany, Japan, Brazil, India, and the African Union (an organization of 53 African states) are among those that have long sought permanent member status.

China opposes India’s membership, which President Barack Obama expressed support for on his trip there in early November.

“In the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed United Nations Security Council that includes India as a permanent member,” said Obama, according to a speech transcript on the White House’s website.

Obama’s remark in India made headlines because until then, Washington had only backed Japan’s bid as a permanent member of the council.

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