The G4 bloc of Brazil, Germany, India and Japan has said “status quo” and “artificial delays” in implementing the UNSC reforms will diminish the relevance of the United Nations, even as Pakistan called the grouping a “minority” that wants to reconfigure the Security Council to secure “their national interests’’.
The G4 issued a joint statement at the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council Reform here, saying there can be no progress in the reform process until there is a concrete text as a basis on which the UN member states can embark on a “genuine give and take negotiation process’’.
“The G4, along with the overwhelming majority of member states, is committed to progress, not the status quo,” the statement, delivered by German Ambassador Harald Braun, said.
The group said that subjecting the negotiations process to “artificial consensus requirements is not tenable’’, noting that this method serves the “narrow national interests” of a few and not the interest of the organisation.
“What it does, is to create artificial delays with the sole purpose of ensuring that we discuss UNSC reforms ad infinitum. This would mean that we accept a process that step by step diminishes the relevance of the United Nations. This cannot be the objective of any member state,” the group said.
The G4 noted that there is an “overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction” among members regarding the veto.
“The G4 proposal for new permanent members not to exercise the right until a decision is taken within the framework of a review, could provide a way for compromise,” the group said.
It added that on the issue of regional representation, there is agreement that the council membership should be more representative, particularly of the developing world, to “enhance its legitimacy and effectiveness’’.