The Group of Four (G4) countries, India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany, reaffirmed their strong support for the Common African Position (CAP) on September 25 during a meeting on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York.
The CAP, articulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, represents the African Union’s unified framework for addressing global issues.
It calls for at least two permanent seats for Africa in the UN Security Council (UNSC), highlighting the continent’s long-standing exclusion from permanent membership.
Ministers Meet to Push Reform
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar joined his counterparts Mauro Vieira of Brazil, Johann Wadephul of Germany, and Iwaya Takeshi of Japan to review progress and discuss prospects for UNSC reform.
In a joint statement, the ministers stressed that comprehensive reform of the UNSC was in the best interest of all nations. They underlined the G4’s willingness and capability, as democracies committed to the UN Charter and multilateralism, to shoulder the Council’s responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
The G4 ministers reiterated their mutual support for each other’s bids for permanent membership in a reformed UNSC. They argued that reform must reflect contemporary geopolitical realities to enhance the Council’s representativeness, legitimacy, effectiveness, and efficiency.
They emphasised the importance of expanding UNSC membership in both permanent and non-permanent categories, a position they said enjoyed the support of a majority of UN member states.
Greater Role for Developing Nations
The joint statement underscored the need to improve the participation of underrepresented and unrepresented regions such as Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The ministers insisted that developing countries and those significantly contributing to global peace and security must gain a stronger role in the UNSC.
The G4 ministers urged the international community to engage wholeheartedly in negotiations during the 80th UNGA session. They committed themselves to further outreach and collaboration with the wider UN membership to advance UNSC reform as part of comprehensive UN reform.
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