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United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Few issues have been as persistent at the United Nations as complaints about the structure of the world organization itself, with both friends and foes of the United States pushing for reform of the powerful Security Council.

As world leaders gather for the annual General Assembly, calls for change are coming from an unlikely source – the United States, which has been outraged by Russia’s veto power as it seeks to hold Moscow accountable for its invasion of Ukraine.

Western powers reviewed procedural rules to ensure Russia did not block Security Council meetings and turned to the General Assembly, where each of the UN’s 193 member states has a vote, to condemn Russia.

The Security Council showed its impotence to the world in February when diplomats continued to read pre-written statements just as Russia began bombing its smaller neighbour.

In a recent speech, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed support for “reasonable and credible proposals” to expand the membership of the 15-nation Security Council.

“We should not defend an unsustainable and outdated status quo. Instead, we must show flexibility and a willingness to compromise in the name of greater credibility and legitimacy,” she said, without elaborating.

She said the permanent veto-wielding five – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – had a special responsibility to uphold the standards, and promised that the US would only use its veto in “rare, extraordinary situations”.

“Any permanent member who uses a veto to defend their own acts of aggression loses their moral authority and should be held accountable,” she said.

Russia and China scoff at such talk by the United States, which rejected the Security Council under George W. Bush to attack Iraq.

Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor of South Africa, who has long pushed for African representation in the Security Council, said it was hypocritical to criticize the veto system just because of Russia.

“Some of us who have been asking for a bigger say from the General Assembly have never received support, but suddenly today?” she said at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

“That’s where international law starts to mean nothing. Because for some, we see it as cheating.”

Putting rivals ‘on the spot’

Thomas-Greenfield acknowledged that the U. This may interest you : BEA releases new data on foreign direct investment in the US.S. has not always met its standards, but noted that since 2009, Washington has used its veto only four times — all but once to support Israel — compared to 26 times by Russia.

Richard Gowan, a United Nations expert at the International Crisis Group, said the United States was genuinely concerned about the “inaction” of the Security Council.

“But it’s also a smart way to put China and Russia on the spot. Because we all know that the countries most allergic to the idea of ​​world reform are Russia and China,” he said.

Permanent Five reflects the power dynamics at the end of World War II, a historical moment crucial to Russian identity. Ukraine recently presented a new argument that the seat of the Security Council belonged to the former Soviet Union and not to Russia.

The biggest push for Security Council reform came on the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, when Brazil, Germany, India and Japan began a joint bid for permanent seats.

China has strongly objected to the headquarters of the second East Asian power, Japan, which is one of the largest contributors to the United Nations after the United States.

In the past, US leaders have only paid lip service to reforms without putting in the work. Washington has long supported a seat for Japan, an ally usually aligned with US positions, and former President Barack Obama expressed general support for India’s bid during a visit.

Gowan said Biden’s clarion call would immediately reinvigorate reform efforts, but added, “I don’t think the American people really have a clear end game on this.”

“They put it out there to test the waters, to provoke the Chinese and the Russians. It could get out.”

Diplomacy observers doubted that any reform of the Security Council could take place as long as Russia and China saw their interests at stake.

“Some people in the community who support Ukraine against Kremlin aggression talk about this all the time,” said John Herbst, a former US diplomat now with the Atlantic Council.

“But I think the realistic prospects are very, very slim.”

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