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Japan explains idea for new UNSC reform resolution+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)NEW YORK, Jan. 28_(Kyodo) _ Japan explained a basic idea Friday for a new resolution on United Nations Security Council reform to be submitted to the world body as its ambassador met envoys from Brazil, Germany and India, diplomatic sources said. Under the basic idea, Japan seeks to realize the expansion of the council membership from the current 15 to 21, they said. The four countries previously sought to become permanent members of the council by submitting a joint resolution last year calling for the expansion of the membership to 25. The new resolution idea calls for increasing the number of seats in the council, including permanent members and so-called semi-permanent members, by six, the sources said. Under the idea, the status of new permanent member would be given to countries that stand as candidates and win the support of at least two-thirds of U.N. membership, or 128 countries, but they would not be given veto power, they said. Other candidates would become semi-permanent members with terms longer than the two years for current nonpermanent members, they said. Current nonpermanent members cannot serve more than one term consecutively but the semi-permanent members would be allowed to do so, they said. Of the six new seats, two each would go to Asia and Africa and one each to Latin America and Europe under the idea, they said. After the so-called Group of Four failed to have their resolution passed by the world body during a General Assembly session that ended last September, Japan had talks with the United States on U.N. reform as Washington was against the resolution sought under the G-4 framework. The United States, however, apparently has not given full support to Japan's new resolution idea. Brazil, Germany and India resubmitted the same resolution as last year's in early January but Japan did not join them. The resubmitted resolution calls for adding six permanent and four nonpermanent seats to the council's current numbers of five and 10, respectively, with a 15-year freeze on veto power for new permanent members. |