The Rhine River

First Germany, now Brazil

In a post in a former incarnation, I wrote about how opposition to Germany becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council has stepped aside.

Germany’s application for a permanent seat on an enlarged UN Security Council would not be vetoed by the US, a German newspaper reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources in the German government. Germany, a major contributor to the UN budget, plans to apply for a seat on the Council either later this year or early next year. (Reuters, May 14)

Now Brazil wants to become the Latin American regions representative on the UNSC, and it sees its peacekeeping role in Haiti as its ticket:

Brazil openly acknowledges a bigger mission in dispatching its soldiers to the Caribbean: raising its profile on the world stage and strengthening its bid for permanent membership in an expanded U.N. Security Council, a long-cherished hope of many officials here ....

To proponents, Brazil's inclusion in the U.N.'s top decision-making body is a no-brainer. Many Brazilians believe that their nation — with more than 180 million people, a hefty economy, a land mass bigger than the continental United States and enviable natural resources — belongs to the class of "monster countries" that includes the U.S. and China. Those two nations, along with Russia, Britain and France, make up the five permanent council members.

"Brazil is a natural candidate," said Guerreiro, of the Foreign Ministry. "We have all the credentials in terms of our history, our relationships with our neighbors, the consistency of our positions, our tradition of solving peacefully our conflicts."

posted by Nathanael @ 5:00 PM