US President Joe Biden’s Plan to Reform UN Security Council: Increasing Permanent Members by Six Seats

The administration of US President Joe Biden is developing a plan to reform the UN Security Council, which includes increasing the number of permanent members of the Security Council by six seats. About it informs The Washington Post, citing senior US officials and UN diplomats.

According to the White House plan, the new permanent members of the UN Security Council will not have veto power.

US Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield is consulting with diplomats from 193 UN member states to get feedback on the Security Council expansion project ahead of the annual meeting of world leaders in New York in the fall, according to the publication.

The Washington Post writes that the United States has previously advocated the inclusion of Germany, India and Japan as permanent members of the Security Council. This idea was supported by France and Great Britain, who proposed to give a permanent seat in the body to Brazil and at least one African country.

The publication notes that the UN Security Council reform plan shows Biden’s desire to recognize the growing influence of developing countries and reduce frustration with current members of the Security Council and their inability to stop global conflicts, including the war in Ukraine.

Biden already declaredthat the United States is in favor of increasing the number of both permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. According to the American president, the organization must become “more inclusive – in such a way that it meets the needs of the modern world.”

The UN Security Council is a permanent body of the UN, which is entrusted with the main responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. The permanent members of the Security Council are Russia (until 1991 – the USSR), the USA, China, Great Britain and France. They have the right to veto the decisions of the council.

After the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky called for Russia to be excluded from the Security Council. The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for a mechanism to suspend the membership of the Russian Federation. The White House said that the rules of the organization do not allow this.

The UN Charter does not provide for a procedure for suspension of membership in the Security Council or exclusion from it.