At 03:10 PM 11/1/2002 -0500 Jean-Louis Couturier wrote: >Indeed it is, although I think that the Arabs' importance >is a bit overdone. I would rather see a permanent member be >from black Africa which is a sizable portion of the world >population. South Africa is better respected on the >continent and it is a democracy.
South Africa could conceivably be considered for a permanent UNSC seat in such a scenario, but the Arab bloc is huge at the UN. Although they are not formally an "official region", they Arab bloc has standing agreements with the African and Asian blocs to ensure that there is always an Arab nation on the UNSC. It is virtually impossible to consider UNSC reform without some sort of concession to begin formally representing the Arab/Muslim world on the UNSC. If Egypt is not given a permanent seat, then South Africa is indeed the next-most logical candidate from Africa - although there is still quite a bit of resentment for South Africa around the African bloc, in large part due to its apartheid heritage, and also due to its comparitively large size. Such a scenario is possible, though, if Poland, the Czech Rep., Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Bulgaria (and maybe even the other former Yugoslav Republics) formally jump ship from the "Eastern European bloc" to the "Western European and Other bloc." This might cause the UN to scrap the EE bloc altogether and create a new Arab bloc out of the African and Asian blocs. Thus, the addition of non-permanent seats that are formally reserved for Arab states might still produce the necessary compromise. JDG _______________________________________________________ John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] People everywhere want to say what they think; choose who will govern them; worship as they please; educate their children -- male and female; own property; and enjoy the benefits of their labor. These values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society -- and the duty of protecting these values against their enemies is the common calling of freedom-loving people across the globe and across the ages. -US National Security Policy, 2002 _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l