South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, has once again called for a speedy reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to allow for permanent representation of developing nations in the council.

The United Nations General Assembly elected Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa to serve as non-permanent members of the UNSC for two-year terms starting on 1 January 2011.

However, both South Africa and India have been pushing for expansion in the permanent and non-permanent categories of the UN Security Council as part of its reform, and are hoping these reforms would take shape in the next two years.

“While we are on the UN Security Council as non-permanent members, we remain concerned that we are there as second-class citizens … I do believe, therefore, that the time is opportune, given our joint representation in the UNSC, to conclusively advance UNSC reform,” Nkoana Mashabane said at an India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) gathering in New Delhi on Tuesday.

India, which is among the three largest troop contributing countries to the UN, has already highlighted the significance of all the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia and China and now South Africa) being on the Council together, which could present a united front on several contentious international security issues.

Nkoana-Mashabane reaffirmed that BRICS nations’ permanent representation in the UNSC should remain the focus of the alliance.

She also said South Africa will take the group’s “sustainable development agenda” forward through the Congress of Parties on climate change (COP 17), to be held in Durban later this year.

“In this regard, we will closely consult in preparing for COP17 with our partners, also in the context of the BASIC [China, India, Brazil and South Africa] group.”

IBSA further aims to pursue its common goal of achieving $25-billion inter-trade by 2015. Africa stood to benefit from IBSA partnership in its quest for sustainable development, peace and security, and democracy, Nkoana-Mashabane added.

– BuaNews