German Foreign Minister to Push for Reform of UN Security Council

The current composition of the council created 70 years ago is “outdated”. As a result of the reform, it “needs to be reflected much more adequately than is currently the case”, said Heiko Maas.   Germany claims to be a permanent member in the UN Security Council as a result of the UN reform, stated German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in an interview with dpa on Thursday, December 27. According to him, the structure of the organization created 70 years ago is “outdated”, and as a result of the reform, it “needs to be reflected much more adequately than is currently the case”. Maas stressed that Germany is taking on more and more responsibility in solving international problems and at the same time faces the growing expectations of the international community. Germany is the second state in terms of the amount of funds allocated for humanitarian needs. However, global problems, such as climate change, digitalization and migration, can be solved only through international cooperation. Discussions on UN reform have been going on since the 1990s. Germany, along with Brazil, Japan and India have been pushing for an expansion of the UN body. These four economically powerful states are seeking, together with two other African countries, seats on the Security Council as permanent members. Until now, all attempts of the UN reforming failed because of the reluctance of the current permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, since any reform would have to be approved by the five permanent members as well as two-thirds of UN members, most of which are against at least one of the aspiring countries’ bids for a permanent seat. According to Maas, most UN members support the idea of reform. “It will not be easy, but we will keep bringing up this topic for discussion”, said the German Foreign Minister. They talk about reforms for too long, but nothing happens, the German politician added. Source: SW