G4 confident about UNSC berth

Germany, India, Brazil and Japan have enough votes to land permanent seats on the UN Security Council, but they will still seek more support before pushing for a vote, ambassadors for two of the so-called G4 nations said.

However, Pakistan, which opposes the change because of its rivalry with India, said that if the General Assembly ever votes on it, "they'll lose."

Speaking with reporters after a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday, German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger and Indian Ambassador Nirupam Sen said they still envision putting their proposal to enlarge the Security Council from 15 to 25 seats to a vote by the end of June.

The proposal calls for the creation of six new permanent seats and four non-permanent seats on the Council.

Holders of the six new permanent seats would be identified later, in a second resolution, but it is already known that they would go to members of the G4 and two African countries to be chosen by the African Union in a summit in early July.

If the two resolutions pass, a third resolution would be required to amend the charter of the United Nations.

"We are seeking consultations, dialogue and discussions with all member states here... and at the end of that we'll have a vote on the resolution," Pleuger said. "June has always been our target, we have not given up."

"We are confident that we have the two-third majority that we need but we're also striving to have the largest possible support," he added.

The General Assembly of the United Nations comprises 191 members, so a two-third majority is 128 votes. The General Assembly does not hold veto power, a privilege reserved for the five permanent members of the Security Council -- China, The United States, France, Britain and Russia.