India is among 35 United Nations member states that are preparing a draft, which could form the basis for starting inter-governmental negotiations on the reforms of the powerful Security Council including its expansion, diplomats said.
The group, which is consulting wider membership as it finetunes the draft, aims to break the logjam in the open-ended working group, which has been discussing the issue since 1994 without achieving any breakthrough.
The draft contains elements of all major viewpoints expressed about the council's expansion and the reform it needs to make reflects the current realities.
The draft would call on the UN General Assembly president to commence inter-governmental negotiations within three weeks of the resolution being adopted and a decision be taken by the end of the year.
The Uniting for Consensus, a bloc led by Pakistan and Italy, would like the open-ended working group to continue its so far futile labour until a consensus is reached.
To break the deadlock, Assembly president Srgjan Kerim had appointed a taskforce, but it failed to take into consideration the viewpoints expressed by various groups and thus could not move the process forward.
That led to new initiative being taken by the group of the countries eager for an early reform of the council.
Any resolution on the council reform would require two-thirds majority in the 192-member General Assembly and it would need ratification by two-thirds members, including all five permanent members of the Security Council, to take effect.
The current structure of the 15-strong council, which counts victors of the Second World War among its permanent members reflect the situation existing at the time war ended.
India, Japan, Germany and Brazil are strong candidates for permanent seats in the council as they fulfill all basic criteria.
Two permanent members would be from Africa, which is yet to decide on its nominees.
A senior diplomat, involved in the negotiations, said that the purpose of the initiative is not to pronounce on the Open-Ended Working Group, but to ensure that inter-governmental negotiations begin if OEWG is unable to take such a decision.
As a basis for these negotiations, it lists elements that are crucial for a comprehensive reform of the council, including inter-alia the expansion of permanent and non-permanent membership, improvement of working methods, the issue of the veto, increasing the representation of the developing countries and better access to small and island states.
The Group of Four comprising India, Japan, Germany and Brazil do not oppose new permanent members not initially getting the veto, but Africans insist that they too must have the right just like the current permanent members.
The draft calls for veto, but then everything would be on table when the negotiations begin.
UFC does not oppose India's candidature as such, but wants expansion only in the non-permanent category, arguing that new permanent members would become new "centres of power."
But most other members, including India, argue that 10 non-permanent members have not been able to make dent in the power enjoyed by the five permanent members and hence, increasing only their number would not help in achieving the aim of ensuring that developing countries are effectively represented in the decision-making process.
Hence, the need for expansion in the permanent category.
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