Thursday, June 23 2005 13:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Brussels: The Group of Four countries comprising India, Germany, Japan and Brazil yesterday night (Jun 22, 2005) decided to stick together on the question of UN Security Council expansion and introduce their resolution in the General Assembly.

Foreign Ministers of the G-4 countries, including K Natwar Singh, who held an emergency meeting in Brussels, shared the need to strengthen the UN in order to effectively address today's challenges and keeping in mind the need for comprehensive UN reforms including development, security and human rights.

The Foreign Ministers reiterated their view that the Security Council must be reformed to reflect today's global realities and not the world of sixty years ago. They reiterated their resolve to further cooperate make the summit meeting of the Millennium Declaration in September a great success with substantial achievements in various fields.

The meeting of G-4 Foreign Ministers takes place close on the heels of statements by the United States that it favoured expansion of the UNSC by two members, one of them being Japan and another from the developing world with broad indications that this could be India. Analysts perceive this as an attempt by Washington to split the G-4 solidarity.

In order to keep the UNSC apace with contemporary global realities, the Council must be expanded in both permanent and non-permanent categories on the basis of representation with the inclusion of both developed and developing countries, they the Foreign Ministers stressed.

In line with the recommendations of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who has urged the member-countries to take a decision on the important issue of Security Council reforms before September this year, the Foreign Ministers expressed their resolve to introduce the text of the framework resolution leading to its adoption by the General Assembly after the African Union and Caricom summits in July.

In their revised compromise draft resolution in the face of opposition from several member countries, the G-4 proposed increasing the strength of the Council from 15 to 25 with six new permanent seats and dropping of veto power for 15 years if they are accepted as members of the UNSC.

German Foreign Minsiter Joshchka Fischer said "we have a good draft declaration on the table." At the request of African nations, the General Assembly vote will take place after the African Union Summit in Libya, which ends on July 5.

The Foreign Ministers of the G-4 met in Brussels on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq.

The Group of Four's resolution needs the approval of two-thirds of the 191 UN members. That would have to be followed by another resolution to change the UN Charter, which requires a two-thirds vote and approval by the five permanent members, the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia. Each of the five has the power to veto a resolution.