Posted on 09/25/2004 12:52:48 PM PDT by Grzegorz 246
Support is growing at the UN for a joint bid by four influential countries to increase the number of members of the Security Council. Germany, Brazil, India and Japan are seeking permanent seats on the council for themselves and one African nation.
France and Britain, two permanent council members, backed the move at the General Assembly - although Italy expressed its opposition.
France also restated its disapproval of the invasion of Iraq.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told the meeting his country would not send troops to Iraq, despite calls from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for protection for UN personnel there.
"As everyone knows, France did not approve of the conditions in which the conflict was unleashed," he said. "Neither today nor tomorrow will it commit itself militarily in Iraq."
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf also ruled out sending troops.
'Truly representative'
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says UN reform is not only on the agenda of the General Assembly but in the very air, and there is a growing feeling that the UN needs to be recast. Mr Barnier backed the four countries' bid, and said Paris was in favour of increasing the numbers of both permanent and non-permanent members of the council.
The call was echoed by UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw - who also voiced support for a Russian proposal to stop suspected terrorists using political asylum in other countries.
India and Germany put forward their case for the reforms of the security council, saying it was essential for the legitimacy of the UN.
"The inclusion of countries like India would be a first step in the process of making the United Nations a truly representative body," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the reasons for the reforms "speak for themselves", as they would give the UN more authority.
Italy objects
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade called for two permanent and two non-permanent African seats, while Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo argued that his country was well qualified for permanent membership.
But Italy voiced its opposition to the move, saying it favoured only the inclusion of more non-permanent seats on the council.
"We do not believe the council's difficulties can be resolved through new permanent, irrevocable appointments," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said, adding that Arab nations might feel excluded.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is known to favour an expansion of the council, to enable it to command greater respect - especially in the developing world - and to make it more effective.
Washington, meanwhile, has backed Japan's bid for a permanent seat, but reserves judgement on Germany, India and Brazil.
The council's five veto-wielding permanent members are the UK, China, France, Russia and the US.
The 10 other council members are chosen for two-year terms by regional groups.
"Support for UN reform increases"
Nothing is or could ever be worse than a reformed whore. Thus the whole UN should be "shoved", in immortal words of Theresa Kerry.
Abolish the UN ~ NOW!
The EU should get ONE vote on the Security Council period. They want to add Germany? This would give Europe 3 votes, ridiculous! The U.S. will veto that one for sure!!!
GET US OUT! And while your at it--GET THEM OUT of the U.S. What a joke UN Reform!! BAAAHHAHAHAH
Give seats to India and Japan, but not Germany, and take France's seat away, and we might be talking business.
Yeah ~ shut it down and close it ~ let the euro-weenies move over there and they can have it all to themselves. :)
Musical chairs at the UN. We should just give up our seat and let the UN become the European UN and see how they get along without us fighting their battles. Won't have us to blame or kick around any longer. FOR SALE - PRIME REAL ESTATE - NYC.
I support reform to. Reform them to somewhere else and get the Hell out ourselves.
Or sell it to the highest bidder and then get out!
The UN socialist will get us all killed...these one-world globalist socialists want capitalism/freedom to fail. They are elists and morons. The U.S. must create its own organization to promote freedom and drop out of the UN. see www.getusout.org
That's not 'reform' that's membership drive. Yuck
Reform is in the 'very air' at the UN because it's become so obvious that the jig is up. Oil-For-Food has shone the bright light of day on an organization that has rotted from the inside, and Kofi and company are scurrying around trying to get out of the sunlight.
So reform is 'in the air'. Give more countries a stake in the rotten status quo and maybe we can stay on the gravy train, right Kofi?
I support any reform of the UN that includes not spending another dime of US Taxpayer money on it.
I support any reform that includes running Koffi and his minions out of the US and turning the former UN building into condos.
I support any reform of the UN that includes putting behind razor wire all those that profitted from the 'Oil for Palaces and Kickbacks" program.
A UN seat for Germany in addition to France's, Great Britain's, will lead to domination of the Security Council by Europeans, or make the European Union the most powarful world organisation.
Besides making this Council unable to reach decisions due to opposite interests, the world would be plunged into socialistic European domination.
With three European countries deciding future policy, the U.S.A. in such case, needs to ask to get two additional seats for US States that are larger than these European countries to maintain egalitarian balance.
The European Union needs to think of who should be their only representative, England or France, equal to, as is the case with the US.
The one seat to be vacated by the weakest member is France.
This one seat, to correct even current European UN domination needs to go to either India, Australia, or Brazil.
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