Document Type

Article

Publication Title

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Abstract

For at least twelve years, Security Council reformers have proposed many ways to enlarge the size and diversify the composition of that body. The goals of these proposals, two of which were endorsed in the Secretary-General's 2004 Report on High LevelPanel on Threats, Challenges and Change, were to make the Council more representative of the broader membership, especially of the developing world, while at the same time not impairing the decision-making abilities of the Council. Everyone recognizes that the trick is how to best balance those two competing goals. The next President of the United States (U.S.) should take another look at the Council reform proposals contained in the High Level Panel report. That report outlined two models for Council reform, A and B, and any new administration should re-examine whether a serious diplomatic effort to push these is worthwhile. Under both proposals, the Council's membership would expand to twenty-four states, consisting of six states each from the regions of Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and the Americas; neither proposal would modify nor expand the number of veto-holding states. The only difference between A and B consists of the proportions of new seats that would be permanent, renewable, or non-renewable. The new President should also take seriously the Panel Reports' recommendations on how to better institutionalize Art. 23 of the United Nations (U.N.) Charter-which suggests that the Council's membership should recognize states who contribute the most to the U.N. financially, militarily, and diplomatically. At the same time, there is no reason to assume that political realities have shifted to make enlargement of the Council any more likely now than before. It may be that enlarging the Council in the current climate among the P-5 may aggravate the Council's paralysis. For this reason, I will not dwell further on the prospects of reforming the Council which require amending the U.N. Charter.

First Page

319

Volume

15

Publication Date

2009

Download

Share

COinS