Saturday, June 4 2005 13:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

United Nations: The Group of Four (G-4) countries seeking permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC), including India, have failed to narrow down their differences with a group led by Pakistan and Italy on the expansion of the world body's top organ.

However, the G-4 comprising India, Japan, Germany and Brazil continued intensive consultations with potential co-sponsors and other member States on the framework resolution they plan to move on expansion of the UNSC and expect to maintain their deadline of tabling it by third week of June.

A meeting between G-4 and the Pakistan and Italy-led 'United for Consensus' (UFC), which opposes expansion in the permanent membership, failed to narrow down their differences yesterday (Jun 3, 2005).

At the meeting convened by UN General Assembly President Jean Ping, the G-4 maintained that UFC has offered nothing new which could form the basis for a discussion.

Ping told reporters after the meeting that he had urged both groups not to take any precipitate action till June 21 when he plans to start consultations on the draft document drawn up by him to be presented to the summit of world leaders at the United Nations scheduled for mid September.

Diplomats of G-4 said Ping's suggestion was that their resolution should not be put to vote till June 21 but that would not prevent them from tabling it.

China, on whose support UFC - also known as Coffee Club - is counting, did not attend the meeting despite being invited by Ping.

Ping said he would like the two groups to continue consultations with the aim of arriving at some consensus.

He rejected the suggestion that the issue be remitted to the world leaders' summit for a decision, saying what could they do in three days on this contentious issue, which is being debated for 11 years.

The document drawn up by Ping, which is based on the report of the high-level panel appointed by the Secretary General Kofi Annan, does not advocate any particular model that is whether the expansion of the Council should be in both permanent and non-permanent categories or only in the non-permanent category but talks in generalities.

The panel had recommended two models, one of which called for expansion in both permanent and non permanent categories and the other only in the non permanent category and left the decision to the member States.

Annan, in his report based on the Panel's recommendation, did the likewise.

But Ping's document only endorses comprehensive reform of the Security Council to make it more broadly representative and more transparent and to enhance the legitimacy of its decisions and its effectiveness.

It also recommends that the Council adapt its working methods so as to increase the involvement of States, which are not represented on it, in its work, enhance the accountability to the membership and increase its transparency of work. But it does not make any specific proposals.

Asked about it, Ping said the issue of expansion is so complex that even the independent experts appointed by Annan could not come up with a single model.