G4 nations

G4 nations
Brazil  Germany	India  Japan

The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Unlike the G7, where the common denominator is the economy and long-term political motives, the G4's primary aim is the permanent member seats on the Security Council. Each of these four countries have figured among the elected non-permanent members of the council since the UN's establishment. Their economic and political influence has grown significantly in the last decades, reaching a scope comparable to the permanent members (P5). However, the G4's bids are often opposed by Uniting for Consensus movement, and particularly their economic competitors or political rivals.^[1]

Background

The UN currently has five permanent members with veto power in the Security Council: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The G4 nations are regularly elected to two-year terms on the Security Council as non-permanent members by their respective regional groups: in the 24-year period from 1987 to 2010, Brazil and Japan were elected for five terms each, Germany for four terms (one term as West Germany and three terms as unified Germany) and India for two terms.^[2] Cumulatively, the G4 has spent 64 years on the Security Council since the UN's inception, with each country serving at least a decade.^[3] By comparison, the three permanent members of the Security Council who have maintained their seats since the UN's founding (France, the UK, and the US) have each accrued 70 years of membership. The People's Republic of China has held its permanent seat for 44 years, since it replaced the Republic of China in 1971, and Russia has held its permanent seat for 24 years, since it replaced the Soviet Union in 1991.

Comparison of G4 and P5 Members
		Total Population	% of World Population	GDP (PPP)^1	GDP (nominal)^1	UN funding^2	UN peacekeepers	Defence budget^1	Active military	Nuclear arsenal
Brazil	G4	205,434,000 (5th)	2.8% (5th)	$3,276 (7th)	$2,347 (8th)	2.934% (10th)	1182 (24th)	$31.9 (10th)	327,710 (14th)	N NO
China	P5	1,374,110,000 (1st)	18.8% (1st)	$18,088 (1st)	$10,357 (2nd)	5.148% (6th)	3084 (9th)	$129.4 (2nd)	2,285,000 (1st)	YES
France	P5	66,539,000 (20th)	0.9% (20th)	$2,591 (9th)	$2,834 (6th)	5.593% (4th)	926 (31st)	$53.1 (5th)	352,771 (13th)	YES
Germany	G4	81,292,400 (17th)	1.1% (17th)	$3,748 (5th)	$3,874 (4th)	7.141% (3rd)	198 (58th)	$43.9 (9th)	250,613 (22nd)	N NO^3
India	G4	1,282,500,000 (2nd)	17.6% (2nd)	$7,411 (3rd)	$2,182 (7th)	0.534% (27th)	7800 (3rd)	$45.2 (7th)	1,745,000 (2nd)	YES
Japan	G4	126,880,000 (10th)	1.7% (10th)	$4,767(4th)	$4,602 (3rd)	10.833% (2nd)	272 (55th)	$47.7 (6th)	230,300 (24th)	N NO
Russia	P5	146,489,230 (9th)	2% (9th)	$3,576 (6th)	$1,861 (10th)	2.438% (11th)	71 (77th)	$70 (3rd)	1,027,000 (5th)	YES
United Kingdom	P5	64,800,000 (22nd)	0.9% (22nd)	$2,569 (10th)	$2,950 (5th)	5.179% (5th)	288 (53rd)	$61.8 (4th)	197,780 (26th)	YES
United States	P5	322,573,000 (3rd)	4.4% (3rd)	$17,348 (2nd)	$17,348 (1st)	22.00% (1st)	80 (76th)	$581 (1st)	1,458,219 (3rd)	YES
^1$US billions ^2Percent contributed to total UN budget ^3Takes part in NATO nuclear weapons sharing agreement

Support

The United Kingdom and France have backed the G4's bid for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.^[4]

Japan has support from the United States^[5] and the United Kingdom.^[6]

All the members of Permanent members of P5 have supported India's bids for permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) but China had previously implied that it is only ready to support India's bid for a permanent seat on United Nations Security Council if India did not associate its bid with Japan.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Opposition

There has been discontent among the present permanent members regarding the inclusion of controversial nations or countries not supported by them.

For instance, Japan's bid is heavily opposed by China^[11] and South Korea who think that Japan still needs to make additional atonement for war crimes committed during World War II.

Under the leadership of Italy,^[12] countries that strongly oppose the G4 countries' bids have formed the Uniting for Consensus movement, or the Coffee Club, composed mainly of regional powers that oppose the rise of some nearby country to permanent member status.

In Latin America, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico are opposing a seat for Brazil.

In South Asia, Pakistan is opposing India's bid.

Activity

The G4 suggested that two African nations, in addition to themselves, be included in the enlarged UNSC. In several conferences during the summer of 2005, the African Union was unable to agree on two nominees: Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa all lay claim to a permanent African UNSC seat.^[13][14]

A UN General Assembly in September 2005 marked the 60th anniversary of the UN and the members were to decide on a number of necessary reforms—including the enlarged Security Council. However the unwillingness to find a negotiable position stopped even the most urgent reforms; the September 2005 General Assembly was a setback for the UN.

The G4 retain their goal of permanent UNSC membership for all four nations (plus two African nations). In January 2006, Japan announced it would not support putting the G4 resolution back on the table, not to interfere with any effort by the African Union to unite behind a single plan. And meanwhile, Japan's continuing relations with the G4 were not mutually exclusive.^[15][16]

G4 issued a joint statement on 12 February 2011, in which their foreign ministers agreed to seek concrete outcome in the current session of the UN General Assembly.^[17]

On 26 September 2015, Narendra Modi invited the leaders of the G4 for a summit following the adoption of UN General Assembly Decision 69/560 by consensus, which moved forward for the first time.^[18]

See also

• BRICS, Group of Five
• Uniting for Consensus (Coffee club)
• Reform of the United Nations Security Council

References

1. "Japan Says No to G4 Bid". Globalpolicy.org. 2006-01-07. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
2. Membership of the Security Council
3. List of members of the United Nations Security Council
4. "Joint UK-France Summit Declaration". British Prime Minister’s Office. 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
5. US backs Japan's UNSC bid despite setback to momentum, People's Daily, 19 April 2005
6. UK backs Japan for UNSC bid, Central Chronicle, 11 January 2007
7. "China Should Back India for a Permanent UN Security Council Seat".
8. China supports India's bid for UNSC seat: Wen.
9. Krishnan, Ananth (16 July 2011). "China ready to support Indian bid for UNSC". The Hindu (Chennai, India).
10. "Countries Welcome Work Plan as Security Council Reform Process Commences New Phase". Center for UN Reform Education.
11. http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/allying-with-japan-at-security-council-is-indias-biggest-mistake-chinese-media-1219912
12. "Players and Proposals in the Security Council Debate", Global Policy Forum, 3 July 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2006.
13. Africa's Battle for Power in the Security Council, United Nations Radio, 21 July 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2006. Archived 27 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine.
14. Africa: Security Council Expansion, AfricaFocus Bulletin, 30 April 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2006.
15. International Review, Summer, 2006 by Emily Bruemmer
16. Japan Says No to G4 Bid, Global Policy Forum, News24.com, 7 Jan 2006
17. Thaindian News Sat Feb 12 2011 by IANS
18. Sharma, Rajeev (27 September 2015). "India pushes the envelope at G4 Summit: PM Modi tells UNSC to make space for largest democracies". First Post. Retrieved 20 October 2015.