Foreign ministers from Germany, Japan, India and Brazil on Sunday mounted a diplomatic offensive to get crucial African support for their bid for an expanded UN Security Council in hopes for a vote this month.Without support of the 53-member African Union, which has sent several foreign ministers, led by Nigeria, no enlargement is possible of the 15-member council, whose composition still reflects the balance of power at the end of World War II.

The four ministers met UN Assembly President Jean Ping early on Sunday before they hold crucial negotiations with African foreign ministers in a make-or-break session.They could reach a compromise or continue to talk in New York or capitals. But without agreement between the four aspirants and the African Union, there is no chance any plan will get the necessary two-thirds vote in the 191-member General Assembly needed for enlargement.“We will start again again from the 22nd, and we are now discussing the next steps,” said Ping, who will be away most of this week. He was flanked by Foreign Ministers Joschka Fischer of Germany, Nobutaka Machimura of Japan, Celso Amorin of Brazil and Natwar Singh of India.

Germany’s UN ambassador, Gunter Pleuger, told reporters earlier, “The outcome of Sunday will decide when and how we are going to the vote. It is absolutely necessary we come to a decision before the end of July.” Other envoys said that if a vote took place it would be the last week of this month.The four aspirants have postponed a vote several times as rival plans emerged and the United States and China lobbied against all the proposals.

Germany’s, Japan, Brazil and India have called on the General Assembly to enlarge the Security Council from 15 to 25, including six new permanent seats, including two for Africa, without veto power for any new member.But the African Union’s draft resolution asks for the council to be enlarged to 26 seats and is demanding six new permanent seats with veto privileges.

Fischer told German reporters there could not be any compromise on giving veto rights to new council members.Enlarging the Security Council has been under discussion for a dozen years without a solution, mainly because each region or nation has its own aspirations. The issue was given momentum this year by Secretary-General Kofi Annan who argued the council was unrepresentative and undemocratic and should be reformed before a September UN world summit.

The Security Council now has 10 nonpermanent members rotating for two years terms and five permanent ones with veto power – the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France.The first steps in expansion of the council needs two-thirds approval from the 191-member General Assembly. But eventually, there would need to be a UN Charter change, and here the current five permanent members can use their veto power.Nigeria’s foreign minister, Oluyemi Adeniji, whose country is president of the African Union, told reporters on Friday the African Union was willing to negotiate, despite tough statements to the contrary from Algeria.

A third proposal, circulated but not introduced by a group called “Uniting for Consensus” calls for 10 new members, all of them nonpermanent, with seats for varying terms. This group, includes Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, South Korea, Pakistan, Canada and others.

<B>Evelyn LEOPOLD</B>