By Edith M. Lederer
New York - The African Union will hold an emergency summit on Thursday to consider an agreement reached with Brazil, Germany, India and Japan on expanding the powerful United Nations Security Council, UN diplomats said.
Japan's UN Ambassador Kenzo Oshima said on Tuesday that there was some initial confusion on whether the summit would take place but "it is now confirmed that it is going to go ahead".
After 10 years of seemingly endless debate, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told UN member states in March that he wanted a decision on Security Council expansion before a summit of world leaders in September. But the issue remains highly contentious, and no proposal on the table at the moment can win the required support from two-thirds of the 191 UN member states.
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The African Union called for a summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, following an agreement between some of its ministers and the so-called Group of Four at a meeting in London on July 25 to increase the council from 15 to 26 members.
Oshima expressed hope that the summit will approve the agreement which would then be put to a vote in the UN General Assembly.
"It is going to be quite an important event," he said, "and we look forward to a positive outcome from that summit".
But Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Algeria's UN Ambassador Abdallah Baali have protested that no agreement was reached at the London meeting, and there are clear divisions among the 53 African nations.
Baali confirmed the summit will take place, but said "I think the level of attendance of heads of state and government will not be high because of the shortness of time, because also of the unwillingness of some countries to attend the summit."
The Security Council currently has 15 members, 10 elected for two-year terms and five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
Brazil, Germany, India and Japan have introduce a resolution calling for a 25-member council that would add six permanent seats without a veto and four nonpermanent seats. It is hoping to win four of the permanent seats with the other two earmarked for Africa. South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt are the leading African contenders.
The African Union has proposed expanding the council to 26 members -adding six permanent seats with veto power and five non-permanent seats. A third resolution by a group called Uniting for Consensus would add 10 non-permanent seats.
The London agreement would drop Africa's demand for a veto and accept an extra non-permanent seat, according to the Group of Four and Nigeria which currently heads the African Union. But that extra seat would be rotated among the three developing regions - Africa, Latin America and Asia - not be held by Africa as the African Union wanted.
There is widespread support for enlarging the council to reflect the world today rather than the global power structure after World War II when the United Nations was formed. But all previous attempts have failed because of national and regional rivalries, and with time running short, and three rival draft resolutions on the table, the rhetoric and allegations have escalated.
Oshima said if the African Union endorses the London agreement, a joint resolution will be put to a vote in the General Assembly, but no decision has been made on the timing.
Approval of the resolution, however, would just be the first step.
The toughest step is a second resolution to change the UN Charter because that not only requires two-thirds approval but support from the five current permanent members, and the United States and China have already voiced objections. - Sapa-AP
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