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Egypt stakes claim to UN council seat
Egypt staked a claim to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council on Saturday, saying the powerful body should better represent all the world's civilisations and cultures.
| "We want to represent the failed states..." |
The Security Council's five permanent members with veto power -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- have held seats since its creation from the ruins of World War Two. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told a conference any expansion of the Security Council should not be confined to some societies to the exclusion of others. "It will be difficult to achieve real progress on this subject without a comprehensive view...which grasps the importance of representing all civilisations and cultures in the expanded council," said Aboul Gheit, who was Egypt's ambassador to the United Nations until his appointment in July. "Egypt's ... contributions to supporting the activities and achieving the objectives of the United Nations and its peacekeeping operations qualify it to take on the responsibility of new membership in the expanded Security Council." Egypt joins other major powers such as Germany, Japan, India and Brazil which are seeking permanent seats on the council.
Posted by: Fred 2004-09-12 |
