Cape Town — Any hope for the "absolutely necessary" reform of the United Nations Security Council now depends on Africa and the position of the African Union (AU) towards proposals for reform of the council, deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad said today.
Referring to the various proposals put forward for Security Council reform, including the position of what is now called the G3 group - Germany, Brazil and India - Mr Pahad said "everything now depends on Africa".
With the G3 - called the G4 before Japan pulled out - calling for two permanent seats to be added to the existing five-member permanent Security Council panel without a veto, and with the AU sticking to its position of two extra veto-wielding permanent seats, progress towards reform now revolves largely around movement in the African position.
Mr Pahad told reporters during a briefing on progress made by cabinet's International Relations, Peace and Security cluster that government was not sure how much support the AU would get for its resolution when it comes to a vote on the issue in the General Assembly.
However, the Committee of 10 heads of state elected by the AU to deal with the matter have reported that there is "massive support" for the AU position of two permanent Security Council seats with a veto.
When the matter goes to the 191-member General Assembly this support would be tested, Mr Pahad said, accompanied by colleagues, deputy foreign affairs minister Sue van der Merwe and deputy minister of sport, Gert Oosthuizen.
Whatever the outcome, Security Council reform "is absolutely necessary, whether there is any commitment by any real players to a veto for the new members".
Mr Pahad said he doubted there was any commitment from the current five permanent members of the Security Council - Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and China - to giving new members veto powers.
This was why the G3 had adopted an incremental approach, proposing that the matter of veto powers for new Security Council members should be raised in 15 years' time, along with only one extra non-permanent seat.
But until the G3 had African support, it would be difficult for their proposal to pass through the UN, Mr Pahad said, adding that if the G3 felt they could get at least some African support they would put it to a vote in July.
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"So everything now, from what everybody is saying, depends on Africa at that July summit coming up with a position that can take the process forward - that's the view of many countries, that unless Africa moves on the issue of the veto, there is no chance of this debate going forward."
The African position currently remains that any new members must have the same rights as the G5, a position which South Africa is adhering to but which is on the agenda for the forthcoming African Union summit in Gambia in July.
The issue remained of serious concern to South Africa, said Mr Pahad, because "unless there is reform of the UN Security Council we won't get this body to be transparent enough, representative enough".
Better news for South Africa is that it was elected to be a member of the UN's new, more powerful Human Rights Council, with 179 members of the 191 countries that make up the UN voting for South Africa's membership of the 45-member revamped UN organ.
Mr Pahad said he hoped the new council would give greater attention to the concept of development as a human right.
