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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