All Illusions Shattered? Looking Back on a Decade of Failed Attempts to Reform the UN Security Council

Abstract

In this article, the original positions of United Nations Member States regarding the composition, size and voting procedure of the Council, as well as their modifications during the discussions that have taken place since 1991 will be outlined. However, it is not always easy to assess the degree of these modifications, and the positions presently taken by governments because, in general, official statements of the last years have been much less detailed than those put forward between 1994 and 1997. Because of the long-lasting deadlock, in many governments questions of Security Council reform have not been thoroughly discussed on a high political level for several years.