Emerging nations for immediate expansion of Security Council

Fazle Rashid NEW YORK, Nov 20: The emerging nations strongly underscore the immediacy and urgency of the expansion the Security Council to make truly reflect "contemporary reality". Expansion will enhance the credibility and the effectiveness in wrangling with contentious global issues. The emerging nations called for expeditious reforms of the Security Council. This view came to the fore at the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The question of equitable representation and increase in the number of Security Council membership took the centre-stage. The demand is for the increase of both permanent members and non-permanent members of the Council. UNGA members are pressing for "more analytical and incisive reports" rather than the repetitions of the Council decisions. Report of the Security Council is an important means for facilitating interaction among all organs of the UN. The members called for the Security Council's yearly report to pinpoint, highlight and analyse the measures that it has decided upon to maintain global peace. The UNGA will benefit from an assessment of the multiple dimensions of the issues concerning international peace and security in wider geo-political context. There is no option other than to recognise the fact that the real solution not only for a more credible, legitimate and representative Council and for more through report lies in the comprehensive reform of the Security Council including expansion of permanent and non-permanent membership and its working method, said an analyst. Meanwhile, the Middle-East is still in political turmoil. Bashar al-Assad in defiance of the urgings of Arab League and its other friends to step down refuses to budge and continues to cling on to power. In Egypt the people have again converged on the streets demanding immediate transfer of power to the elected representatives.