Though there was little coverage in the mainstream media, this past week there were further developments in the security council reform issue as the General Assembly in a late night meeting on September 15, passed on the issue of Security Council reform to the 63rd session and put dates for going into intergovernmental negotiations in the resolution.
 
There is an detailed update on what happened on Monday,  on www.centerforunreform.org  providing a rare account of the events that took place in the Open Ended Working Group in order to be able to pass a resolution so that the issue of Security Council reform could be passed on to the 63rd session of the General Assembly which began the following day. 

The following excerpt is from “Member States Renew Mandate for Working Group on Security Council Reform after Intense Discussions” by Jonas von Freiesleben, 16 September 2008

On Monday Afternoon, September 15, 2008

“… Kerim announced that… weiter lesen

Was there a chance to stop a major escalation of a conflict that was missed?

 On Thursday evening, August 7, the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin arrived for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council with a request.  A letter he submitted to the Council (S/2008/533) asked that a meeting be held to discuss events taking place in Georgia. The members of the Security Council gathered and decided to hold consultations. The consultations were held in a closed door session. It was not till early in the morning on August 8, Friday, that a public meeting of the Security Council was convened.

 The meeting was convened around 1 a.m. Friday, August 8.

 In his statement to the members of the Security Council, the Russian Ambassador… weiter lesen