Committee - UNSC (United Nations Security Council-Organization)

Topic – Addressing threat to International Peace and Security from nonstate actors
 In 1945, when the world reached the end of a conflict that claimed the lives of over 50
million people, the international community created the United Nations, conceiving a
multilateral system that has the Security Council as its central body in the treatment of
issues related to peace and security.
 At the time, there were only 51 UN members. Today, there are 193. In 1945, the UNSC
made up of 11 members, represented 22% of the Organization's composition. Currently,
its 15 members represent 7.7% of the total. This outdated governance structure
compromises its legitimacy and, consequently, its effectiveness.
 Despite the important transformations the world has undergone since then, the
structure of the Security Council was changed only once: in 1965, with the increase of
non-permanent seats from six to ten. Regions such as Africa and Latin America continue
to be excluded from permanent participation in what is the most important body of the
international community for the issues of peace and security.
 In 1963, a large number of African and Asian countries proposed the inclusion of the
subject “Question of Equitable Representation on the Security Council and the Economic
and Social Council” on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly. An
agreement between African, Asian, and Latin American countries made it possible to
submit a reform proposal for the expansion of the Security Council which should include
ten non-permanent members. The permanent members did not view the proposal
favorably, arguing that any expansion of the Council should be more modest.
 The weight of the African-Asian bloc in the Assembly allowed for the approval of the
proposed amendment to the Charter: on December 17, 1963, the General Assembly
adopted Resolution 1991 (XVIII), creating four new non-permanent seats. The resolution
received 97 votes in favour (Taiwan), 11 against (France and Soviet Union), and 4
abstentions (the United States and the United Kingdom).
 The high political cost of preventing the entry into force of an amendment that had been
approved by the majority of the Member States of the United Nations and was intended
to increase the legitimacy of the Council resulted in its ratification, by the five
permanent members, in 1965.
 Brazil is of the view that the world cannot forgo a Security Council that is capable of
dealing with serious threats to peace in a transparent, efficient, legitimate, and effective
way. A reformed Security Council must reflect the emergence of new actors, particularly
from the developing world, who can contribute to overcoming the challenges of the
international agenda. The admission of new permanent and non-permanent members,
in the context of UNSC expansion, will help to guarantee decisions that effectively
respond to contemporary threats and challenges.
 The UNSC reform is urgent and must be widely debated by the Member States and by
universities, press, parliaments, and society in general.

G4
 In 2004, Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan established the so-called G4. The group
advocates for the expansion in the categories of permanent and non-permanent
members, including a greater number of developing countries in both categories, to
 better reflect today’s geopolitical realities. Based on the firmly shared recognition that
they are legitimate candidates for permanent membership in an expanded Security
Council, the four countries support each other's candidatures.
 In 2005, the G4 presented to the United Nations a specific Security Council reform draft
resolution (A/59/L.64), which would result in a Council expanded to a total of 25
members, with 6 new permanent seats assigned to Africa (2), Asia (2), Western Europe
(1), Latin America and the Caribbean (1) and 4 new non-permanent seats to Africa (1),
Asia (1), Eastern Europe (1) and Latin America and the Caribbean (1). The G4's proposal
also scheduled a review of the reform after 15 years, when it would be considered, inter
alia, the question of the veto. Until then, new permanent members would be committed
not to make use of the veto in their deliberations in the UNSC.
 It is worth mentioning that Brazil is also part of the L.69 Group, which advocates for the
expansion of the Security Council in both categories of membership and the
improvement of the body's working methods. The group is comprised of developing
countries from various regions, including least-developed countries, landlocked
developing countries, small island developing States, IBSA member countries (India,
Brazil, and South Africa), among others.
 The expansion in both categories has the support of the large majority of UN Member
States and should be reflected in future negotiations. In this context, Brazil has sought to
work with its partners to add greater political momentum to the reform process.
 Currently, discussions on the subject are focused on the so-called intergovernmental
negotiations (IGN). Brazil, together with the G4 and the L69, defends, in this context, the
consideration of only one negotiating text, which will explain the positions of countries
and groups, and formal records of the sessions held. In 2021, when renewing the
mandate of the IGN, an oral decision by the President of the General Assembly
reiterated the call of the heads of state and government, during the celebration of the
75th anniversary of the UN, to “instill new life” into the reform process.
 The role that has been played by Brazil in the international scenario has consolidated the
image of a country not only willing but also able, to perform greater responsibilities in
the field of international peace and security. In January 2022, Brazil will begin, for the
eleventh time, a two-year mandate as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.
It will represent another opportunity to strengthen the body's role in building a world
free from the scourge of war, in which peace and international law prevail.