Reform of the United Nations Security Council

For many years, will be discussed in politics and political science on a reform of the UN Security Council in the context of United Nations reform. In the debate can be five topics Narrow: categories of membership in the UN Security Council, the question of the veto of the five permanent members of the Security Council (P5 ), the balance of regional representation, the size and operation of the reformed Security Council and the ratio of the Security Council UN General Assembly.

A reform of the UN Security Council under Article 108 of the UN Charter requires a two-thirds majority of the Member States of the United Nations in the General Assembly. In order for such reform to enter into force, they then must also be ratified by two -thirds of the UN member states and the P5. The blockade possibility of the permanent members of the Security Council makes the reform of the Security Council in a special way.

Reform of the Security Council in the past

Between 1946 and the first reform of the UN Security Council the Panel had 11 seats, of which five standing. As the number of UN members more than doubled in the first twenty years of its existence under the Dekolonisationsprozesses, the voices have been raised by an enlargement of the UN Security Council and a more even geographical distribution of seats already in the sixties. The Non-Aligned Movement States was in 1963, a majority in the General Assembly for an expansion of the Security Council. When abstention Great Britain and the United States and against the votes of France and the USSR Council Resolution 1991 was approved by a large majority. Eventually, however, the Security Council ratified not only more than two-thirds of UN members, but also the five permanent members of the resolution, so that the expansion of the Security Council was successful.

Reform proposals after the East-West conflict

A new debate on the reform of the UN Security flared after the end of the East -West conflict against the background of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Resolution 678 of the UN Security Council gave the US-controlled coalition to liberate Kuwait in the right to use all necessary means to repel the Iraqi army. With this first initiated by the Security Peacebuilding use were increasing also the voices that called for a reform of the board. In December 1992, India and Japan called for in the General Assembly to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to on to make proposals for a reform of the Security Council.

After a majority of the Members of the United Nations had submitted proposals for the reform of the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Open -ended working group on the question of equitable representation on and increase enlarge in the one membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council. Thus, the reform of the Security Council had been institutionalized in the United Nations.

Commission on Global Governance

The Commission on Global Governance made ​​in its presented in 1995 and controversial report Our Global Neighbourhood, suggestions for reform of the UN Security Council. The Commission identified the poor representativeness of the Security Council as a problem, which leads to a crisis of legitimacy of the main UN organ. The Commission's proposal provides eight new seats, including up to five permanent seats without veto before. The report calls for a balanced regional representation and consideration of the world's largest economies. The distribution of non-permanent seats remains unclear at the proposal of the Commission on Global Governance.

Razali Plan

In March 1997, the open -ended working group had already existed for three years, the Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail submitted a proposal for a reform of the Security Council, of which he hoped he had a majority. He looked for Germany, Japan, an African, Asian and Latin American country ever a new permanent seats without veto right. The number of non-permanent seats should be increased from 10 to 14 so far, each with a new seat for Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. However, a majority of Razalis proposal did not draw away.

Models of the High -level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to a new way the question of how collective security can be ensured through the use of the Security Council. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sat therefore in 2003 the High-level Panel of eminent personalities one, which should make proposals for reform of the United Nations among others. Since they could not agree, within the panels, two different proposals for the reform of the Security Council were presented. Both models provide an expansion of the Security Council to 24 members. Model A provides for six new permanent seats without veto power, while Model B provides for setting up any additional permanent seats and instead to design eight of the nine new seats as a quasi- permamente seats that are occupied for four years and in which an immediate candidacy is possible.

Proposal from the G4

In July 2005, made ​​the G4 nations Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, all of which are traded at least since the mid-nineties as a potential candidate for a permanent seat in the Security Council, a proposal to reform the Security Council. Just as the Razali Plan, it provides for six new permanent seats without veto power, four of them for the G4 nations and two for African countries. The number of non- permanent seats should be increased by four ( for each a seat for the Latin American, Asian, African and Eastern European group ) so that the Security Council would, according to this model include a total of 25 members.

Uniting for Consensus

Under the leadership of Italy occurred shortly after the introduction of the G4 model, a group of states under the name of Uniting for Consensus in appearance. In the group states are united, see the threat to their role in the international system with the candidacy of new permanent members in the Security Council. Their proposal rejects the establishment of new permanent seats in the Security Council and calls instead for the creation of ten new non- permanent seats and for the re-election possibility for the then twenty non-permanent seats.

Proposed by the African Union

The African states as the second largest regional group of the United Nations in 2005 also brought its own proposal in the debate. This calls for a new size of the Security Council of 26 seats, six new permanent seats with veto power, two each for Africa and Asia and Western Europe and Latin America. Since the creation of new permanent seats but refused, in particular with veto power of the P5, this proposal from the outset has no chance of being implemented.