OPPOSING parties on the proposed United Nations Security Council reform were in the island last week wooing Kingston’s support in separate meetings, with Jamaica now saying it is likely to back the Group of Four (G4) over China.

The G4, which includes Brazil, India, Japan and Germany, claims it already has 120 countries of the 191 UN membership backing its position.

But foreign affairs minister KD Knight, in an Observer interview, was cautious to say that Jamaica, though leaning towards the group, was still fine-tuning its position – an indication that Kingston was open to trade-offs.

“We have received these two different delegations (G4 and China), with different positions, and Jamaica is studying all the positions that have been put forward while developing our own position concerning the reform,” Knight told the Observer.

Kingston is pushing, he added, for the security council changes to be married to a reform of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a 54-member body which promotes economic, social and development cooperation among UN members, and works in tandem with the UN General Assembly.

If Jamaica supports the G4, it would be backing their proposal to add six permanent seats – two from Asia, one from Latin America being sought by Brazil, one from Western Europe, and two from Africa.

Top contenders for the two African seats are said to be South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt.

The council currently comprises 15 members, five of which hold permanent membership – United Kingdom, China, United States, France and Russia.

The 10 non-permanent members, selected from five regions of the world, rotate every two years.

Countries like Jamaica have been arguing forcefully for the Security Council to become more transparent in its workings, which, UN members generally agree, means opening up the membership to other countries.

What is at odds, however, is how the reformed security council should be reconstituted to make it less of an exclusive club for the world’s most powerful nations.

Secretary general Kofi Annan has indicated that he wants a decision from members by September.

The two positions on the reform are:

(a) expanding the permanent membership by six on a regional basis and an enlargement of the non-permanent membership by four – the position adopted by the G4; or

(b) a rival proposal, championed by a group of 12 dubbed Uniting for Consensus that includes countries like Pakistan, Italy, Canada, Argentina and South Korea, to create a new tier of eight semi-permanent members – two each from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas – who would serve for four years, subject to renewal, plus one non-permanent seat.

Under the latter plan, the eight would serve for four years, subject to renewal.

“Our position is inclined to ‘Model-A’ recommendations, which is an enlargement of the permanent membership by six on a regional basis and an enlargement of the non-permanent membership by four.

This is the recommendation coming out of the high level panel commissioned by Kofi Annan,” said Knight.

“China is not supporting Model A,” he told the Observer.

This puts Jamaica in a delicate position, given ongoing negotiations with China on a number of projects, among them revival of the local rail service and investment in the bauxite sector.

But, China’s stance also poses problems for Japan, both of which are engaged in a diplomatic row over Japan’s depiction of history.

China, which has veto power on the security council, has already said that it sees little benefit in the position advanced by the G4, with news stories from within the country of 1.3 billion saying the Chinese government sees the G4 plan as “detrimental” to the security council reforms.

Jamaica is also now negotiating a number of projects with Brazil and Mexico. The latter country, which is also part of the UFC coalition, had indicated willingness to bankroll a convention centre in Montego Bay, but last week Bancomex pulled back from the deal – news of which emerged following early indications from Jamaica to Brazil that it would be open to supporting the South American country in its bid for permanent status on the Security Council.

That revelation was made at a May 16 press conference in Kingston, where Knight announced that Prime Minister PJ Patterson had given encouraging words to Brazil’s foreign minister Celson Amorim, following their discussions on the issue.