UN: Not to appear partisan in the debate on UN reform the Government has decided to avoid taking a public stance on controversial proposals to reorganise the Security Council.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that if it became necessary to take a stand on any or all of the plans for an expanded council, say in a vote at the General Assembly, the decision would be made by the Taoiseach in consultation with the Minister, Dermot Ahern .
Secretary general Kofi Annan appointed him as a special envoy to promote UN reform last April. A Department spokesman said yesterday that, because of his special envoy role, Mr Ahern had taken care to avoid expressing support for any of the specific proposals for changes in the Security Council.
"The Government has yet to take a position on any of the various proposals," the Iveagh House spokesman said. "If a decision needs to be taken on one or all of the proposals in circulation, it will be taken nearer the time and at the highest political level."
Ireland would come under pressure to take a stand if the issue came to a vote in the General Assembly. However, observers believe such a vote is unlikely to take place until early September, despite speculation it might be held on August 9th.
At present there are 15 members of the Security Council. Five of them - China, France, Russia, Britain and the US - have permanent places as well as veto powers. The other 10 members are each elected for a two-year term. The council has primary responsibility for international peace and security under the UN Charter and member states are obliged to carry out its decisions.
The so-called G4 (Group of Four), consisting of Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, has been campaigning actively to increase the number of permanent seats from five to 11, but without veto powers for at least 15 years.
Four of these seats would be intended for themselves, with the other two going to African countries. A two-thirds vote of the General Assembly (128 member states out of a total 191), as well as ratification by all five existing permanent members, is required to change the composition of the council.
The African Union, consisting of 53 African member states, is scheduled to discuss its position at a meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, today.
At least six AU member states regard themselves as suitable occupants of a permanent Security Council seat: Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Senegal.
At a summit meeting in Abuja last January, the AU appointed a working group to make recommendations on UN reform. However the report presented by the group to an AU foreign ministers' meeting in Addis Ababa on March 7th made no recommendations on the selection criteria for permanent council seats.
The UN is scheduled to hold a world summit in New York on September 14th-16th to discuss proposals for general UN reform, and review progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for the reduction of poverty and eradication of major diseases worldwide.