G4 nations call for urgent reform of UN Security Council

The G4 group of nations - India, Brazil, Germany and Japan - have voiced concern that discussions to reform the UN Security Council are still at a 'stalemate,' underscoring that the process should not be an 'endless exercise'.

"The G4 Ministers underscored their continuous commitment to a Security Council reform reflective of the geopolitical realities of the 21st century.

"They agreed that the difficulties of the Security Council to effectively address current international challenges are a compelling reminder of the urgent need for a Security Council reform which makes it more broadly representative, efficient and transparent and thereby further enhances its effectiveness," a joint press statement issued after a meeting of the G4 foreign ministers here said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Brazilian Minister of External Relations Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier Federal and Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida met yesterday on the margins of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly to exchange views on Security Council reform.

The ministers 'voiced their concern' that 70 years after the foundation of the UN and half a century after the first and only time that the Security Council was reformed, discussions are 'still at a stalemate'.

World leaders had at a 2005 World Summit unanimously called for an early reform of the 15-nation body.

The G4 ministers underscored that the process of bringing about reforms of the Security Council should not be seen as an endless exercise.

"The G4 Ministers invited all their counterparts to use the 70th anniversary of the UN as an opportunity to finally achieve a concrete outcome on a process that has dragged on for over twenty years and to engage in all possible efforts to fulfill, by September 2015, the mandate given by our Heads of State and Government," the statement said.

The four countries reiterated their commitment as aspiring new permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as their support for each other's candidatures.

They also reaffirmed their view of the importance of developing countries, including from Africa, to be represented in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of an enlarged Council.

The group also discussed the outcome of the 10th round of the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform.

The group will work closely with President of the 69th General Assembly Sam Kahamba Kutesa to bring about the urgently needed reform of the Council.