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Germany, Japan, Brazil and India, the four countries aspiring to be new permanent members of an enlarged Security Council, distributed on Wednesday a new draft resolution on the body's expansion, under which new permanent members would not exercise the right of veto until 2020 at earliest.
The four nations have wanted the 191-nation General Assembly to adopt a framework resolution in June which would add six new permanent members and four new non-permanent seats to the Security Council.
The council, the only UN organ whose decision is binding on all member states, is currently composed of permanent members with veto power and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms.
"The new permanent members shall not exercise the right of veto" until after the General Assembly meets to review the council 15 years after the proposed expansion comes into force, the new draft said.
The review conference would decide on the question of expansion of veto power to new permanent members, according to the draft.
Germany, Japan, Brazil and India, known as G-4, convened a meeting with some 30 countries which have intended to co-sponsor the draft Wednesday morning. After the meeting, the draft was circulated to all UN member states.
Adoption of the draft by the General Assembly requires a two-thirds majority. Under a three-step procedure proposed by G-4, the assembly would vote on the draft as early as this month, then elect new permanent members in mid-July and adopt a resolution to amend the United Nations Charter.
After orally presenting the new draft at a meeting of some 160 countries Wednesday afternoon, German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger told reporters that G-4 still sticks to its timetable and France, one of the current permanent members, would co-sponsor the new draft.
He also bluntly denied reports that G-4 would probably postpone putting its framework draft resolution to a vote in the General Assembly until July, as indicated early this week by the Japanese foreign minister.
Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov said there are some improvements in G-4's new draft, but that it has a long way to go to gain the broadest possible agreement among the UN member states.
Ratification of an amended UN charter needs the approval of legislatures in two-thirds of the UN member states, including those of the five current permanent Security Council members -- the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France.
G-4's plan for the council's expansion has been strongly opposed by Italy, Pakistan, Mexico and scores of other countries, which call for an increase of the non-permanent members of the council, from 10 to 20, and want a broad consensus on the issue of such an enlargement.
(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2005)
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