G-4 to present UN reform plan in July

[struggle4progress]

BRUSSELS, June 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan,the so-called the Group of Four, will present their UN reform plan to win permanent UN Security Council seats next month, the foreign ministers of the four countries said Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference on Iraq in Brussels.

"The four countries expressed their resolve to introduce the text of the framework resolution at the General Assembly meeting in July," according to a joint declaration of the group.

Under the proposal, four permanent seats will go to the four countries, with two other new permanent seats to go to African nations. <snip>

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/23/content_3123656.htm


22th JUN 18:43 hrs IST
China vows to vote against UNSC expansion plan
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Beijing: Making clear its stance on the proposals mooted by India and three other aspirants for an expanded Security Council, China has said it would vote against any "highly contentious" expansion formula which could split the United Nations membership if such proposal was put to vote in the General Assembly.

"China is opposed to artificially setting a time limit for the reform of the Security Council," the official Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya as telling a closed-door General Assembly debate in New York on Tuesday.

The formula on which there exist major differences is forcibly put to a vote, China will resolutely vote against it," Wang said, referring to the move by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, collectively known as G-4.

http://www.manoramaonline.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=manorama/MmArticle/CommonFullStory&c=MmArticle&cid=1119383734545&channel=News&p=1002194839100&count=7


Pakistan, China criticise Security Council hopefuls

<snip> In some of the strongest language so far, Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram told Tuesday's session that the four powers' plan is "inequitable and unfair" to other U.N. members. <snip>

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=21307&name=Pakistan%2C+China+criticise+Security+Council+hopefuls


US delays speech, accelerates drive to split G4

K.P. NAYAR
New York, June 21: Stung by a backlash to the Bush administration’s crude attempt to split the Group of Four (G4) and wean away India and Japan from the group’s joint bid for permanent seats in the UN Security Council, US representative to the UN Anne Patterson has delayed her potentially landmark statement on UN reform in the General Assembly today by 24 hours.

The statement was widely expected to announce America’s support for India’s claim to one of the new permanent seats and expand on the criteria set out by the state department last week for expanding membership of the Security Council.

Notwithstanding delay in Patterson’s statement, efforts to thwart the G4 strategy will consume American diplomacy in the next 48 hours.

Before arriving in New Delhi for talks with Indian officials, the US under-secretary of state for political affairs, Nicholas Burns, will stop in London tomorrow to meet his counterparts from the other permanent members of the Security Council. <snip>

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050622/asp/nation/story_4899429.asp


US Presents UN Reform Plan to General Assembly

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
22 June 2005

<snip> Speaking to an informal, closed-door meeting of the General Assembly Wednesday, acting U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson said "there should be no lingering doubts: The United States is open to Security Council reform and expansion."

The envoy formally endorsed Japan's bid for a permanent Council membership, but made no mention of other candidates. Japan has joined with Brazil, India and Germany in a combined push to expand the Council from 15 to 25 members, including six new permanent seats. <snip>

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-06-22-voa80.cfm