G4 states drop veto proposal for new UN Security Council members News
G4 states drop veto proposal for new UN Security Council members

[JURIST] In a move to gain support for a draft UN reform resolution introduced last month [JURIST report], Germany, Japan, Brazil and India – the so-called G4 group – have dropped their proposal to give veto power to any new permanent Council members. Their plan would still expand the current Council, which consists of 5 permanent members and 10 rotating members, from 15 to 25. Under the proposal, 6 new permanent seats would be added, and 4 rotating seats. The resolution requires a two-thirds vote from the General Assembly for approval. The pullback on the veto power comes a month after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said publicly that expecting any of the 5 permanent Security Council states to endorse reforms that would give other nations the same veto powers they already enjoyed would be "utopian" [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.