US President Joe Biden intends to propose reform of the UN Security Council. According to the States, the body should become "more inclusive and comprehensive." At the same time, earlier Russia also spoke in favor of changes. What is the difference in the approaches of the two countries, will it be possible to reach a consensus and what are Washington's true intentions?
Joe Biden plans to discuss changing the architecture of the UN Security Council at the organization's General Assembly. John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, said this in an interview with the Telegraph. According to him, the United States believes that the body should become "more inclusive and comprehensive." Biden is expected to speak at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, he will also hold several bilateral and multilateral meetings.
The Washington Post previously wrote that Washington wants to expand the Security Council to 21 countries. According to the publication, 11 states will become permanent members of the department, but only five of them will have the right of veto. Ten more representatives will join the body as non-permanent participants. The newspaper VZGLYAD wrote why such a reformation is impossible without the assistance of Russia.
At the same time, Moscow also supports changes in the structure of the UN Security Council. Thus, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that the activities of this international body are very important. "This requires, of course, the consensus of all participants," he explained.
The Kremlin representative added that the UN Security Council also needs greater inclusiveness "in terms of the participation of those states that have recently acquired an additional role and have a much greater impact on world security, the world economy and are becoming louder and louder." According to him, this conversation should begin now.
In addition, in June, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov argued that the expansion of the Security Council should take place at the expense of the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In his opinion, at the moment Western countries have an absolutely disproportionate representation in the department: out of 15 seats in the Security Council, six are occupied by supporters of the United States.
Last September, Lavrov, addressing the delegates of the 77th UN General Assembly, said that the association should be adapted to modern realities. This is reported on the official website of the organization. According to the diplomat, Brazil and India are key international players worthy of membership in the Security Council. In addition, he stressed the necessity of increasing the role of Africa within the organization.
Recall that from September 19 to 26, a general debate will be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, which will open the 78th session of the General Assembly. This is reported on the official UN website .
Now experts are confident that in the current geopolitical realities, reforming the UN Security Council will be a difficult task. The main difficulty lies in the fact that, under the guise of changes, Washington will again try to maintain the role of hegemon.
"The struggle for the reform of the UN Security Council is nothing but a confrontation between the leading countries of the world for the future world order. It is now being decided what kind of international arena we will see in ten to twenty years, whether it will be multipolar or unipolar," said German political scientist Alexander Rahr.
"Russia has long offered other members of the Security Council to agree on exactly how to change the structure of the organization. However, the United States insisted on maintaining the current rules of the game. Now Washington has realized that "living the old way" will no longer work. Inclusiveness is becoming a reality of the current policy," the expert notes.
"The states of the Global South insist that they be represented in the UN Security Council on an equal basis with Western countries. Joe Biden is ready to make concessions to Africa, Latin America, Asia and Australia, but he is not interested in the Security Council being replenished with participants with the right of veto," the interlocutor emphasizes.
"The United States will try to expand only at the expense of those actors who are more or less loyal to Washington.
At the same time, Germany is also interested in taking its place in the UN Security Council," the political scientist clarifies. "Berlin is not against Europe having a common voice and a common veto. But neither France nor Britain will go for it. In addition, Germany, like other EU countries, will seek to deprive Russia of the opportunity to veto some decisions," he believes.
"In my opinion, the prospect of Security Council reform is deplorable. Africa, Latin America and Asia will not be satisfied with a formal expansion of the UN Security Council without granting them the right of veto. Most likely, the world order will begin to "stratify". Joe Biden's proclaimed campaign of "democrats against dictators" will only worsen the situation," the interlocutor emphasizes.
"Most likely, in the near future the world will see two separate UN. One will be pro-American with headquarters in New York. The second one will represent the rights of the Global South and will be located in one of the capitals of the BRICS countries," the Rar notes.
Vadim Trukhachev, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy of the Russian State University, holds a slightly different point of view. He notes that
Russia is not interested in creating an alternative to the UN, because Moscow always appeals to the organization as the highest organ of the current global world order.
"We have a lot of levers on this platform for the implementation of foreign policy. For example, the right of veto is very valuable," the expert believes. "However, an association that complements the activities of the UN can really be created on the basis of BRICS. But I emphasize – complementary, not alternative. At the same time, Russia can make a number of proposals for reforming the UN. For example, we will probably try to move the headquarters of the organization from the United States to neutral countries," the interlocutor emphasizes.
"But I don't believe that Washington really wants to hear the voice of Africa. The US desire to reform the UN Security Council is aimed solely at preserving the unipolar world and the global dominance of Americans," Trukhachev emphasizes.
At the same time, changes in the structure of the site are long overdue, notes Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the journal "Russia in Global Politics", scientific director of MDK "Valdai". "Everyone agrees that this is necessary. It is noteworthy that Russia and the United States even use similar theses. So, the parties talk about the importance of expanding the representativeness of the regions and rethinking the system for the needs of the XXI century," he said.
"However, as they say, "the devil is in the details," the expert noted. – Washington is interested in the new members of the Security Council adhering to a pro-Western position on key global issues. Therefore, Germany, Japan and India are seen as the main contenders."
"Russia is ready to accept New Delhi joining the UN Security Council, but Moscow is categorically not satisfied with the other candidates. By the way, India is likely to be blocked by China. We are interested in the fact that the body reflects the opinion of the world majority to a greater extent. In this regard, Brazil looks like a pretty good contender," the political scientist emphasizes.
"In addition, Russia supports the accession of African countries. It is also important that in order to integrate a new member into the Security Council, all active participants must come to a consensus. In the current situation, it is difficult to imagine, so expansion in the near future is unlikely," Lukyanov believes.
"There are other difficulties. For example, the criteria for a country's accession to the UN Security Council are still not clearly defined. What should be the deciding factor when choosing a candidate: economic power, political influence or military force? In addition, there are many equal and worthy applicants in the regions, for the sake of whose representation the reformation is planned," the expert argues.
"For example, Latin America can be represented by Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. All states occupy an important place in the life of the continent, and it is almost impossible to determine which of them is more important. The situation is similar in Africa," the political scientist emphasizes.
"The current system of the right of veto will remain intact. There are often calls in Western countries to deprive Russia of the possibility of vetoing, but China will not allow this idea to be pushed through," Lukyanov sums up.
