HAVING INVITED the foreign ministers of the five permanent Security Council nations to London to discuss enlarging the 15-nation council, the British government called off meeting today after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and China’s foreign minister declined to attend, according to key UN members.
British prime minister Gordon Brown had hoped to press the other four permanent members for a deal on adding as many as six new members to the council. But the US and China resisted the initiative on the grounds that it would prove politically divisive at the UN, where there are sharp differences over who should serve on an enlarged Security Council. “The Chinese killed it, and the Americans were not very positive,” said a Security Council diplomat.
The proposal underscored the degree to which the British hope to use the attendance of the world’s big powers at this week’s G20 financial summit in London to address a host of issues. UN diplomats said they still expect discussion on the sidelines of the summit about other global crises, including North Korea’s plans for a rocket test in coming days.
Expansion of the Security Council has been the subject of off-and-on negotiations at the United Nations for more than 20 years. There is broad agreement that the council, which has included 15 nations since 1965, should be expanded to account for the rise of new influential political and economic powerhouses.
But there is no agreement among UN members on who should get into the exclusive club. A group of four regional powers – Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – has campaigned to establish six permanent new Security Council seats, without veto power. Under the initiative by the so-called G4, each of those countries would get a seat, and African states would share two others. But the plan foundered last year when key regional rivals voiced opposition and African states demanded veto rights, as are held by the current five permanent members: the US, Britain, China, France and Russia.
The expansion effort has gained traction in recent months, after Mr Brown and French president Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a compromise – adding the six council seats as proposed by the G4, but requiring those nations to run for re-election after several years.
Britain and France have expressed concern that the failure to enlarge the council is undercutting its legitimacy and influence, allowing countries like Iran and Sudan to flout its demands.
Russia has been among the most sceptical about the need for a larger council. Nevertheless, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had agreed to attend the meeting, UN officials said.– ( LA Times-Washington Postservice)