Korea, 10 Other Countries to Submit Resolution on UN Security Council Expansion

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced July 22 that it submitted a resolution on the expansion of the UN Security Council to the UN Secretariat on July 21 (New York local time). The resolution in the name of 11 countries, including Korea, requests an increase in non-permanent membership of the Security Council from 10 to 20.

The resolution was drawn up by Uniting for Consensus (UFC) which includes Italy, Spain, Mexico, Argentine, Colombia, Canada, Pakistan, Turkey, Malta, and San Marino. The group of countries, also known as “coffee club,” has also opposed the bid to gain permanent membership on the UN Security Council by the so-called “G4” countries, including Japan, Germany, India and Brazil.

This was the third resolution submitted to the UN following ones by G4 and African Union (AU) regarding Security Council expansion. While the G4 resolution proposes to add four non-permanent and six permanent seats without giving veto power for 15 years, the AU suggested five more non-permanent and six more permanent seats with veto power.

UN member countries largely agree on the principle of expanding the Security Council which is currently made up of five permanent and 10 non-permanent members. But there are differences in the details.

The G4 is planning to put its resolution to a vote by the UN General Assembly late this month, even if it fails to draw a single proposal with the AU over which negotiations are going on.

However, a majority of countries, including the U.S. and China, are effectively opposed to the G4 resolution. Furthermore, for a country to become a permanent member, a revision of the UN Charter based on approval of at least two-thirds of UN members, including the five veto-wielding permanent members, is needed, even if the resolution is approved by the General Assembly. In this regard, the government considers that there is a slim chance for the G4 countries, including Japan, to become permanent members of the Security Council.

Jung-Ahn Kim credo@donga.com