Delayed Gratification
July 20, 2007
Berlin is going to change its course from calling for a seat on the council to looking for an "intelligent compromise," Germany's UN ambassador, Thomas Matussek, told AFP news agency on Thursday.
The new tack would be temporary and came at a time when "reform weariness" could clearly be seen among UN members, Matussek added.
Despite that weariness, Germany would push "towards a bigger solution" that would lead to broader reforms of the UN body and, ultimately, end with Germany's goal of a permanent seat being achieved, he said.
For years the Group of Four (G-4), Germany, Brazil, India and Japan, has argued its members deserved permanent seats on the UN's most powerful body, which can make binding decisions on war and peace.
No longer representative
Only Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States have permanent seats on the Security Council -- and veto power over any issue it considers. Ten additional nations rotate through the body with two-year terms.
Many UN member countries have accused the Security Council of no longer representing the international community and called for the council's reform.
"The status quo is not acceptable to an overwhelming majority of the member states," a UN report released in June said. "There have been years of discussions, without substantial results. The time has come to bring the process closer to decision-making."
A previous suggestion tabled by the G-4 called for enlarging the council by six permanent and four non-permanent seats, but the proposal did not receive the two-thirds majority necessary in the UN General Assembly.
Another group of medium-sized countries, including Pakistan and Italy, said the council needed to be expanded by 10 non-permanent seats set up for varying terms.
German goals unchanged
Begun by then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in 2005, Germany's push for a permanent seat languished after failing to get necessary support from the African Union and being openly opposed by China and the United States.
Matussek's reform suggestion calls for Germany and other nations to be voted onto the Security Council for a limited 12-year term. The German envoy added that Berlin would only agree to such a deal if it were guaranteed one of the initial interim spots.
"We would not agree to any solution which did not hold out this possibility for Germany," Matussek told AFP, adding that the interim members would then become candidates for permanent status with veto rights on the council.
"Our ambition remains the same," he said.