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Iran's representative in Vienna: Iran is holding consultations with non-aligned countries to prepare a response to the IAEA's resolution
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Is US quest to expand UN Security Council serious or 'nice rhetoric'?

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Washington Post
  • 12 Jun 2023 20:05
4 Min Read

Is the US really interested in giving a voice to the Global South, or is it looking for a way to take away Russia's veto power?

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  • U.S. seeks to expand developing world’s influence at United Nations
    US President Joe Biden speaks during the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, on September 21, 2021. (AP)

The Biden administration is reportedly working on a proposal to restructure the United Nations Security Council, with the aim of restoring trust in the top global governance organization by acknowledging the current fragmented balance of global power, The Washington Post reported. 

The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has been meeting diplomats from the 193 member states of the organization to explore the possibility of expanding the influential council before the global leaders' summit this autumn.

The objective of the proposal is to recognize the growing influence of developing countries and to address the widespread dissatisfaction with the current members of the council's inability to resolve global conflicts effectively, according to The Washington Post.

The proposal suggests that the United Nations may require reforming to ensure it becomes a central tool in preventing wars and maintaining stability in the increasingly fractured world. The US administration claims it is after modernizing global governance bodies, including the World Bank, and ensuring effective management of security issues, climate change, and global health threats.

Read more: China calls on 'Israel' at UNSC to stop encroaching on Palestine

According to Richard Gowan, UN director for the International Crisis Group, "The more the UN declines, the more fragmented, the more regionalized and the more competitive the world will become.”
 
At the UN General Assembly gathering in September, Biden expressed that he was willing to add new permanent seats to the council. “The time has come for this institution to become more inclusive,” Biden said, urging permanent members to use their veto power only in “rare, extraordinary situations.”

This comes at a time when Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the United Nations to remove Russia or else it should be abolished.

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The Security Council's authority stems from its capacity to approve binding decisions, as opposed to those enacted by the United Nations General Assembly. Aside from the five permanent seats, the council has ten non-permanent members who are chosen for two-year periods.

Brazil and India have argued that it does not represent the views nor the interests of the Global South- Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Ronaldo Costa Filho, Brazil’s outgoing ambassador to the United Nations, stated that the reform of the council would ensure that the Global South "feels it has a significant stake in preserving the system."

Biden's administration has not yet proposed a specific reform, however, according to some US and UN officials, the US is not willing to grant veto power to any new permanent members in the council, keeping the veto power of current members intact. 

A UN diplomat expressed that any reform would "reduce the weight of the West," questioning whether the West is serious about its reform proposals or just utilizing "a nice rhetoric." 
 
Britain's Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the reform is necessary to respond to Russia's use of veto power.

According to Gowan, the necessity of getting the approval of 128 states would mean the proposal will perform  "about as well as a snowball in hell.”
 
The Biden administration must also traverse a slew of rival ideas, demonstrating the complexities of forming global coalitions for any cause. A "Uniting for Consensus" proposal, sponsored by nations such as Italy, Argentina, South Korea, and Pakistan, would add non-permanent seats but no new permanent members, potentially displacing regional competitors in the French and British-led plans.

“We don’t think that it is a good principle that you put a country permanently on the Security Council, because then it is not held accountable for the way it behaves,” Munir Akram, Pakistan's representative stated.

African countries, which account for about 30 percent of UN members, have wanted two permanent seats with veto power for the continent but have not specified which countries will fill them.

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