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
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