India, Brazil, Germany and Japan renewed their demand for an expanded UN Security Council in a joint position reported by Akashvani on September 24, 2026. The four countries, known as the G4, sought enlargement in both permanent and non-permanent membership rather than a change confined to elected seats.
Their argument centred on representation: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean should have a greater role in the institution responsible for international peace and security. They also criticised the absence of concrete progress in the intergovernmental reform negotiations.
One procedural demand was to begin negotiations on a written text. That matters because agreement that the Council should be more representative is not the same as agreement on a particular amendment. The G4 said it would work with other reform-minded groups on a consolidated model; the report did not announce an adopted expansion.
The legal threshold is set out in Article 108 of the UN Charter. An amendment must first secure a two-thirds vote of General Assembly members, then be ratified through national constitutional processes by two-thirds of UN members, including every permanent Security Council member.
Those are separate requirements. A ministerial coalition can build support, but it cannot itself create seats. Even a successful Assembly vote would not dispense with ratification or the permanent members' participation in it.
The September statement is therefore a negotiating position, not a membership decision. Its significance lies in the attempt to turn a broad representation argument into a common proposal. Whether that effort changes the Council depends on agreement beyond the G4 and completion of the Charter's amendment process.
