Still far from a real UN Security Council reform?

Here’s a great analysis on the current situation surrounding the UN Security Council reform process. As the writer points, the two main factions are still far from a two-third majority vote required to reshape the Council’s membership… And much needs to be discussed on veto power!

How close is India to a Security Council seat?

Here is the analysis of Tom Wright on the pages of the Wall Street Journal:

India and Russia on Tuesday signed a number of economic and defense agreements, as Moscow moved to shore up its relationship with New Delhi, an old ally that also has been courted in recent months by the U.S., U.K., France and China. President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in India for two days of talks, making him the fifth and final leader from a nation with a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to visit the South Asian country in 2010.

New momentum for UN Security Council reform?

Source: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) | by Stewart M. Patrick

U.S. President Barack Obama’s surprise announcement of support for India’s permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is a bold foreign policy stroke. Beyond deepening the U.S.-India strategic partnership launched by the Bush administration, it may help break the logjam that has kept the UNSC’s permanent membership mired in the world of 1945.

EU security: a multipolar Europe

Source: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)

The European Council on Foreign Relations has published a major report on European security architecture called ‘The spectre of a multipolar Europe’, written by Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard, with Jana Kobzova, Dimitar Bechev and Andrew Wilson. The report argues that Europe is becoming increasingly multipolar, and in danger of lapsing into separate spheres of influence. It argues that the US is no longer willing to engage in Europe’s internal security, and instead, the main actors – the EU, Russia and Turkey – must come together in a trialogue to build a new European security architecture. Turkey’s EU accession process must also be strengthened alongside recognition of its recent emergence as a credible regional power.

Lisbon passed: Will there be real change in Brussels?

Source: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) | By Daniel Korski

The much-awaited Lisbon Treaty is now finally in place. Any moment now, the EU will emerge from its pre-Lisbon cocoon and show itself as fully-fledged global actor. Expect an emergent China, an assertive Russia and a declining U.S to stand back in awe. Any minute now. Waiting. See it yet? No? That’s because while the ratification provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the EU to improve the efficiency of its foreign policy apparatus — and is cause for celebration — its implementation could be fraught.

Lives at risk at the UN

Source: European Council on Foreign Relations | By Richard Gowan*

Europe has always been seen as a human rights champion. It is viewed the world over as model for an open, democratic society, with its governments protecting rights as a given. But the EU is undeniably losing influence at the UN, and its ability to push the human rights debate on the world stage is dwindling with it. And as European power at the UN declines, human rights standards drop and lives are put at risk as the EU is outplayed in power politics.

U.S. joins U.N. Human Rights Council

Source: The New York Times | By Neil MacFarquhar

The United States won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, joining a group that the Bush administration had pilloried. The controversy surrounding the 47-member body, which assesses the rights records of United Nations member states, was underscored by the General Assembly’s re-electing other nations condemned by human rights organizations for abusing their own citizens. They include Cuba, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Cameroon.

US and China kill British proposal for UN Security Council reform

Source: The Washington Post | By Colum Lynch

Having invited the foreign ministers of the four other permanent Security Council nations to London to discuss enlarging the 15-nation council, Britain on Monday called off the Wednesday meeting after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and China’s foreign minister declined to attend, according to key U.N. members.