Kofi Annan (file photo)
11 August 2005 (RFE/RL) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is appealing to member states to agree on a package of sweeping reforms of the United Nations -- including an expansion of the Security Council -- by the end of the year.
Annan made the remarks late on 10 August as the reform package -- the most ambitious in the United Nations' 60-year- history -- is being prepared for submission at a 14-16 September UN summit.
Perhaps the most controversial reform is an expansion of the 15-member Security Council. Three draft resolutions have been introduced in the General Assembly, including one by Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan to increase council membership to 25.
All decisions to reform the Security Council must be approved by two-thirds -- or 128 votes -- in the 191-member General Assembly.
The council's five permanent members -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China, and France -- have veto power.
(Reuters/AFP/AP)
See also:
2004 And Beyond: UN Future Clouded Amid Hopes For Reform
Perhaps the most controversial reform is an expansion of the 15-member Security Council. Three draft resolutions have been introduced in the General Assembly, including one by Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan to increase council membership to 25.
All decisions to reform the Security Council must be approved by two-thirds -- or 128 votes -- in the 191-member General Assembly.
The council's five permanent members -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China, and France -- have veto power.
(Reuters/AFP/AP)
See also:
2004 And Beyond: UN Future Clouded Amid Hopes For Reform