Germany's Merkel says U.N. Security Council must be reformed

[Little Tich]

Source: Reuters

It is high time the United Nations Security Council is reformed to reflect the real distribution of power across the world in the 21st century, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.

"We need a new method of work to solve problems," Merkel said. "That makes reform of the Security Council necessary, reform which reflects the real power in the world better than the situation today."

The appeal was in a summary of Merkel's opening remarks at a meeting with her counterparts from Brazil, India and Japan provided to reporters by the German delegation.

"We have to proceed very wisely," she added, according to the summary. "We have to find allies to reach our goal of reform."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/26/us-un-assembly-merkel-idUSKCN0RQ0NC20150926

[oberliner]

1. What do you think?

Do you agree with Merkel here?

[Little Tich]

7. Yes, I agree with her.

The Security Council doesn't reflect the current geopolitical reality.

The permanent members look like an Old Boys' club.

[oberliner]

8. Would adding Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan as permanent members of the UNSC be a good solution?

Or would you propose something different?

[Little Tich]

14. I think it would reflect more accurately the way the world looks today

and it would make powerful countries able to voice their concerns on their own without having to find a sponsor. However, I think the power to veto should be removed altogether, it's almost never used in a good way.

[Demeter]

2. Oho! Angela Is feeling Death's Dark Wings upon her reign

How are things at VW, DeutscheBank, and the borders, Mutti? Still proud of the knife job you did on Greece?

[charlie and algernon]

3. Taking a shot at it

6 Permanent Members with Veto Power
US
Russia
China
Britain
Germany
Japan


5 Permanent Members without Veto Power
India
France
South Korea
Brazil
South Africa


6 Rotating Members - 2 year terms
1 North America
1 South America
1 Europe
1 Asia
1 Africa
1 Oceania

[bl968]

4. veto power

No country should have veto power. That's what let the UN be the mostly toothless body it is today.

[pocoloco]

19. LOL! US give up it's Sovereignty?

WTF are you thinking?

[delrem]

5. US, UK and France have NOT done the necessary to ensure peace in the ME.

They have bypassed the UN to create war there.
They are all part of the same military alliance.
They are 3 of the 5 permanent members of the security council, having veto power.
South America and Africa aren't represented in the security council.
Central Asia is not represented.

There's obviously an imbalance. The UN security council is made up of military super-powers with no overarching motivation to work for "peace", and history shows that they feel free to ignore the security council and the UN whenever it suits their plans, and there's nothing on the planet to stop them.

The five permanent members of the UN security council is the identical group of five countries allowed to have nuclear weapons according as the original NPT. That's circumstantial, but a very telling circumstance.

[oberliner]

9. Have Russia and China done better?

Not sure why you left them out of your criticisms.

[delrem]

11. How have Russia and China been belligerents in the ME "war on terror"?

[oberliner]

12. Don't they sell a lot of weapons to the various belligerent parties?

They certainly haven't done a whole lot to ensure regional peace.

[delrem]

13. Well, OK, if you want to equate them like that.

How can I argue with that logic?

[WinkyDink]

6. Angela ought to stop thinking that Germany won.

[Maxinedaily]

10. They could always reform the furniture

that way the next time the US bugs it like they did before the Iraq war (that war was a complete disaster and tragedy, by the way) they wouldn't be so easily caught out. Just saying.

[Uncle Joe]

15. There should be reform of the U.N. Security Council to better reflect and represent 21st century

realities.

Thanks for the thread, Little Tich.

[pampango]

17. India is the second largest country in the world with 20 times the population of the UK or France.

Indonesia is #4 (which would put a Muslim country on the Security Council) and Brazil is #5 (which would represent South America). Nigeria is #7 and would be a logical African representative.

The five permanent council members can block any such moves. Britain and France say they support council reform. The United States has also cautiously backed it. U.N. diplomats say China, and to a lesser extent Russia, are the principal opponents of the idea.

Of course, countries that have veto power now are often reluctant to give up power for any reason. And many on the right still want to the US to withdraw from the UN, not make it stronger and more effective.

The granting of veto power to the strongest post-WWII countries was a wise move by FDR since the UN may not exist at all without it. In the 21st century it would be wise to modify that to make the UN more effective. I suppose the UN veto power would be like California, New York, Texas, Florida and (who's #%?) each having veto power of what the federal government can enact.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. The 5 "permanent" members should rotate - 1 per each of the 5 major populated continents

I.e., rotate members within each of North America (including Central America), South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia (including Australia as an island continent).