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Bolton: UN council expansion will fail
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-15 11:07
John Bolton, America's ambassador to the United Nations, predicted Friday
that efforts to greatly expand the Security Council will fail.
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John Bolton United
States Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks at Chatham House, London,
Friday Oct. 14, 2005. [AP]
| Bolton's remarks
were a rare case of a U.S. official publicly speculating on the outcome of a
bitter Security Council reform debate. In the past, he and other officials have
repeated strong American opposition to rival proposals for adding at least 10
seats to the 15-nation body.
Bolton, who has made overhauling the United Nations a priority since US
President Bush appointed him to the job, said the world body must become more
efficient, effective and accountable. Making the Security Council too large
would undermine that goal, he said.
Increasing the number of seats to 25 or 26 "gives us great pause," he said,
adding that the maximum that Washington could support would be 19 or 20 seats.
U.S. opposition is a key factor because there is no consensus among the 191
U.N. member states on how to expand the council. Also, while the United States
does not have the power to block a vote in the General Assembly, where there are
no vetoes, its support would be crucial when necessary changes to the U.N.
Charter would have to be approved by national legislatures.
Giving his first talk in Europe since taking his post in August, Bolton noted
previous efforts to restructure the powerful Security Council had foundered.
"Our prediction would be that this latest effort at changing the composition
of the council is not going to succeed," he said at the Chatham House foreign
affairs think tank.
He reiterated the U.S. administration's support for Japan's bid to become a
permanent member of the council, but did not say what other countries America
might back.
While there is widespread support for expanding the council to reflect
geopolitical changes since the U.N. founding 60 years ago, there is no agreement
on how large it should be, who should get seats, whether new seats should be
permanent or temporary, and who should have veto power.
The council currently consists of five permanent members with veto power —
the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France — and 10 non-permanent
members that serve two-year terms and have no power to block resolutions.
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