Four nations, Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, have backed a permanent African seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), calling for urgent reform of the Council to reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.

The four countries, under the Group of Four (G4), made their position known in a joint statement issued after their foreign ministers met in New York on Tuesday on the margins of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

The ministers said reform of the Security Council had become more necessary than ever, given the increasingly challenging global geopolitical environment.

They said the Council was currently unable to effectively discharge its core responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, with its representativeness, legitimacy, credibility and efficacy in question.

According to them, the Council’s eight-decade-old structure was “not reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities” and had become an impediment to addressing present and future challenges to international peace and security.

The ministers stressed that expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories was central to meaningful reform.

They called for greater representation of under-represented and unrepresented regions and groups, particularly Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The four nations also welcomed the reform model presented by the African Group during the Inter-governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform in the 80th session of the General Assembly.

They reaffirmed their support for Africa’s case for enhanced representation on the Security Council, including in the permanent category.

The ministers, however, expressed concern over the slow pace of negotiations, noting that the IGN process had produced no concrete outcome towards substantive Security Council reform despite 18 years of discussions.

They also expressed reservations over the presentation of what they described as a “bridging proposal” before the commencement of text-based negotiations.

According to them, the proposal failed to take into account the position of a clear majority of UN member states in favour of expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories.

The ministers further maintained that consensus should not be the benchmark for decision-making on Security Council reform, citing the UN Charter and the mandate of the IGN.

They said Brazil, Germany, India and Japan would work with other reform-oriented groups to develop a consolidated model that reflects the views of the majority of UN member states.

The four countries said commencing text-based negotiations should be treated as a priority towards achieving substantive reform of the Security Council.

They said this would help restore the Council’s representativeness, legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness, while strengthening the multilateral system with the UN at its centre.

The ministers also said discussions on reform should not be restricted to the IGN, expressing willingness to engage the wider UN membership through other platforms, including the General Assembly.

They pledged to continue coordinating closely during the 81st session of the General Assembly and directed their officials to follow up on the discussions.

Progress on the issue is expected to be reviewed at the next Director General-level meeting in New Delhi. (Nigerian Tribune)