Germany Confident About UN Reform

Brazil, Germany, India and Japan claim to have a lock on permanent seats in an enlarged UN Security Council as part of an extensive UN reform. "We will definitely do that," a German diplomat told AFP news service. Only the General Assembly can change the makeup of the council, by a two-thirds vote of the 191 member states. The four countries, dubbed G4, have clamed repeatedly to have the votes to lay claim to a new seat for each. However, the change requires an amendment to the UN Charter, which requires approval of the legislatures of the two-thirds of the member states, including all of those currently on the council. The five permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, could block the reform simply by withholding its approval. "China might block the ratification for, at least for some time, but we'll see," the German diplomat said. He said that the G4 wanted to submit the resolution to a vote "before the end of the month." The resolution would enlarge the council to 25 members from its current 15.