Once again, this year, for a period of 24 months, Brazil will have a temporary seat in the United Nations (UN) Security Council. This time Brazil will be replacing Central American country Costa Rica.
The four other temporary members inaugurated now, alongside Brazil, are Bosnia Herzegovina, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria. For two years, the presidency of the council will be in the hands of China. The first meeting in 2010 should take place this week and should be presided by Chinese ambassador Zhang Yesui.
The council has 15 members, of which five are permanent and ten are elected by the UN Assembly General for a term of two years. The permanent members are China, the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.
Conflicts and international crises are discussed by the council, which may authorize military intervention in conflicts. For a resolution to be approved by the organization, a majority of nine of the 15 members is necessary, including the five permanent members, each of which has veto rights.
There are a number of discussions led by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, going on right now in defense of a reform of the Security Council.
For the Brazilian government, there is an imbalance that does not reflect the new world order. The idea is to expand from 15 to 25 the number of members with room for two members from Asia, one from Latin America, one from Eastern Europe and another one from Africa.
