The USA demands two permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UN) for African statesWashington is also proposing a rotating seat for small island developing countries, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters.
She hopes that this proposal, which is to be officially presented on Thursday, will advance the debate so that “at some point in the future” a Reform of the Security Council However, according to American ideas, only the USA, China, Russia, France and Great Britain should have the right of veto.
The new initiative comes at a time when the Authority of the UN Security Council with its structure established after the Second World War is increasingly being called into question. Russia, China and the USA also repeatedly prevent common positions by vetoing them.
The US is currently trying to Improve relations with Africa and the Pacific island statesIn Africa, many countries see the US support for Israel’s actions in the war in the Gaza Strip criticalIn addition, China is massively expanding its influence there through economic agreements. The USA also wants to counteract Chinese influence in the Pacific region.
Germany, together with India, Brazil and Japan (G4), has also been trying for decades to achieve a reform of the Security Council, citing a completely changed world. Germany and Japan are among the UN’s main donors.
The US supports permanent seats for the G4, for example. But insisting on one’s own right of veto is one of the reasons why reforms have always failed so far. India, with its population of billions and also nuclear weapons, has already refused to be treated worse than the USA or China in the UN Security Council in the event of reform.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports a reform of the Security Council. Currently, there is a Security Council that corresponds to the situation after the Second World War and that Problem with legitimacy and effectiveness he told Reuters on Wednesday. The Council must be reformed. The topic is also likely to come up at the so-called UN Future Summit in New York at the end of next week, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz will also attend.
When the United Nations was founded after the Second World War in 1945, the Security Council initially consisted of eleven countries. In 1965, it was expanded to 15 members, consisting of ten elected states with two-year terms of office and five permanent members with veto powers: the veto powers are the USA, Russia, China, France and Great Britain.
The Security Council is responsible for Maintaining international peace and security It is the only UN body that can issue binding resolutions, impose sanctions and arms embargoes, and decide on military action. (Reuters)
