By NNN-PTI,
United Nations : India is among 35 UN member states that are preparing a draft which could form the basis for starting inter-governmental negotiations on the reforms of the powerful Security Council including its expansion, diplomats said.
The group, which is consulting wider membership as it fine-tunes the draft, aims to break the logjam in the open- ended working group, which has been discussing the issue since 1994 without achieving any breakthrough.
The draft contains elements of all major viewpoints expressed about the Council’s expansion and the reform it needs to make it reflect the current realities and give more credibility to its decisions.
The draft would call on the UN General Assembly President to commence inter-governmental negotiations within three weeks of the resolution being adopted and a decision be taken by the end of the year.
The Uniting for Consensus (UFC), a bloc led by Pakistan and Italy, would like the open-ended working group to continue its so far futile labour until a consensus is reached.
To break the deadlock, Assembly President Srgjan Kerim had appointed a task-force but it failed to take into consideration the viewpoints expressed by various groups and thus could not move the process forward.
That led to new initiative being taken by the group of the countries eager for an early reform of the Council.
Any resolution on the Council reform would require two-thirds majority in the 192-member General Assembly and it would need ratification by two-thirds members, including all five permanent members of the Security Council, to take effect.