Out Of League?

바카라 웹사이트Two weeks after the special working group to determine reforms in the Security Council reconvened, New Delhi's Permanent Representative to the UN, Prakash Shah, is confident that India is a forerunner for a permanent seat in the Council.바카라 웹사이트

"It is clear from the responses we have received from countries all over the world that India is the frontrunner for an Asian seat. We do not see ourselves competing with anyone else though everyone has the right to project themselves for the seat. We are quite confident that given our size, our economic importance, our militarily strategic location and the contributions we have made, India is an automatic choice," notes Shah.

Developing countries, which form the overwhelming majority of UN member-states, are unanimously in favour of an expansion plan—but only as long as they find adequate accommodation within the Council. "We are for equitable representation within, and expansion of, the Council—both of its permanent and non-permanent categories," Shah told

바카라 . "But the reality is that there are 140 developing member-states so, any changes must reflect that reality. This was also the position adopted by the member-states of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) at the Cartagena Summit last year. Any expansion of permanent membership in the Council to include only Germany and Japan is not acceptable," asserts Shah.

In fact, New Delhi is content to ride on NAM's support. Says Shah: "We believe that the whole question has been settled at Cartagena. We are not preparing any alternate model as we believe that there is a complete NAM summit declaration behind the position we have adopted."

Long time UN-watchers and Shah's own colleagues in South Block are, however, sceptical about India's reliance on NAM. AS an official in New Delhi put it: "Shah is being unrealistic if he thinks India can get in just with the help of NAM. Don't forget NAM failed to adopt a common stand on the extension of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT)."

바카라 웹사이트The working group has been meeting for over two years but is yet to reach a consensus over any of the several models proposed to expand the Council, where the North is over-represented and China is the only Asian permanent member with veto rights. But even a consensus would just be a step on a long and winding road: it would then need a two-thirds majority vote on the floor of the General Assembly and a consensus in national parliaments to be translated into reality.

바카라 웹사이트Suggestions thrown up within the working group have been vast and varied. It is believed that the entry of Germany and Japan into the Council as permanent members is imminent. This is the only alteration—to the current status of five permanent and 10 non-permanent seats in the Council—which is likely to be accepted by both the US and the UK.

India and the other developing nations are pushing ahead in their efforts to speed up the implementation of a model, popularly called the "two-to-three" plan. The model envisages the entry of Germany and Japan and that of three developing nations, each representing Latin America, Africa and Asia, respectively, as permanent members of the Council. This model has been accepted by most European states, barring Italy.

바카라 웹사이트But if India is looking up to this model, so is Indonesia. The question then is whether India's claims are justified. In terms of sheer size and contribution to UN peace-keeping missions, India fits the list. But if NAM plays a decisive role in the expansion, Indonesia, also a NAM member, is more likely to find supporters, at least among the other Islamic states. As far as economic importance is concerned, though the contributions of India and Indonesia to the UN budget are minimal, the growth rate of the Indonesian economy is more rapid than that of India.

바카라 웹사이트But what really works against India is the US opposition. India's refusal to sign the NPT, its determined stand on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the dispute with Pakistan, are all cited as possible reasons for the US to oppose India. Besides, Pakistan has openly declared that it will not support India's entry into this select league.

바카라 웹사이트It now remains to be seen whether the working group will reach a consensus and place it before the General Assembly this summer. Not surprisingly, the group that has been deliberating for so long in the corridors of the world body has been dubbed "the never-ending working group" by the Italian representative to the UN.