Diplomatic sources within the United States have revealed that officials are actively developing a proposal to overhaul the United Nations Security Council, a move that could potentially be presented at the upcoming September meeting of the General Assembly. Anonymous sources cited by The Washington Post disclosed that President Joe Biden's envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is currently engaging in consultations with member states to gather feedback on a potential expansion of the council. The US hopes that these efforts will restore confidence in the world's preeminent governance body by recognizing the evolving global power landscape.

As it stands, the Security Council is composed of five permanent members - Russia, China, France, the UK, and the US - along with ten rotating members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. Presently, two of the rotating seats are assigned to Latin America, five to Africa and Asia combined, one to Eastern Europe, and two to Western Europe and other regions.

While the US proposal remains fluid, it is anticipated that it will involve the addition of six more permanent members who would not possess veto power. Sources speaking to The Washington Post suggested that Germany, Japan, and India are potential candidates, while Britain and France favor Brazil and at least one African country.

The envisioned reform aligns with President Biden's speech at the General Assembly last September, where he expressed the need to expand the Security Council to foster inclusivity and to restrict veto power to rare and extraordinary situations.

Addressing the concerns of its allies in Kiev, the US proposal aims to alleviate frustrations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously demanded that the UN declare Russia an aggressor and either remove it from the Security Council or dissolve the council altogether. While the US views the latter option as excessive, it aims to create functioning institutions that facilitate dialogue and conflict resolution.

"We want these institutions to work so that we can debate and try to resolve international conflicts," shared an anonymous US official with The Washington Post. "We have to be clear-eyed about the success or lack of success that we've had over the years, but there's no question that we're better off with these institutions than without them."

Russia also supports the notion of Security Council reform. During an April session on effective multilateralism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized the need to address the current over-representation of Western countries in the council, advocating for greater representation from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

However, implementing reforms to the Security Council would require amending the UN Charter and garnering the approval of at least 128 out of the 193 member states, as well as unanimous support from the five permanent Security Council members. The current political landscape, particularly the challenges in securing ratification from the US Senate, suggests that achieving such reform is uncertain at best.

A UN diplomat interviewed by The Washington Post commented, "Any reform of the Security Council may well reduce the weight of the West. So this is a reality. And the question is, are we really pushing for that now? Is it just nice rhetoric that we want to do this, or are we really serious when we say we want to do it now?"