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No more hiding behind consensus: India, Brazil

BRASILIA: India and Brazil will move away from seeking a consensus to begin negotiations with countries opposing their permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council.

India and Brazil have decided that they should go into negotiations.

“It has been over a decade. We should move away from hiding behind consensus,” Secretary (West), External Affairs, Nalin Surie on Wednesday told journalists accompanying President Pratibha Patil on a two-week-long state visit to Latin American countries.

Agreeing with Mr. Surie, Under-Secretary-General of Political Affairs at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, Roberto Jaguaribe, said “the negotiations will include finalisation through vote. [If need be] vote will decide.”

Mr. Jaguaribe said, “When the process started Japan and Germany, members of the G-4 group, were clear about what they wanted. India became the obvious candidate and Brazil is almost there.”

G-4 is an alliance between India, Germany, Japan and Brazil for supporting one another’s claim for a permanent seat in the UNSC.

According to him, the process, as part of the United Nations reforms, was taking too long.

“The process has been dragging too long. Even without the structured changes, we need to move forward. The world is changing very fast but the multi-lateral agencies not so fast.”

Both officials pointed to the success of their efforts in that they both participated in the finalisation process of the World Trade Organisation, “which is basically a New York-based process.”

“There were indications about the negotiation process starting after the [presidential] elections in the United States. We have to see what position the U.S. will take. What will be the stand of the African group. Both India and Brazil have a stake,” they said.

The importance of the UNSC issue came forth in Ms. Patil’s address to the Brazilian Parliament on Tuesday. Brazilian Senate President Garibaldi Alves Filho said the reforms of the United Nations would not be complete until the Security Council became more democratic, legitimate and representative by incorporating countries from all regions, including the developing world, as permanent members.

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