United Nations Regional Groups

Originally, the UN member states were unofficially organized into five groups as an informal means of sharing the distribution of posts for General Assembly committees.

Top leadership positions, including Secretary-General and President of the General Assembly, are rotated among the regional groups.

The groups also coordinate substantive policy and form common fronts for negotiations and bloc voting.

For example, the first election to the Security Council used a similar scheme, allocating seats along the following lines:[5] Elections to the Economic and Social Council also followed along similar lines, but instead allocated seats to "Near East states" and not "Middle Eastern states."

Following a wave of decolonization, there were multiple admissions into the United Nations from African, Asian and Pacific states.

This pressure led to the passage of Resolution 1192 (XII) of 12 December 1957, which established a formal pattern for distribution of seats on the General Committee.

This resolution called for equitable geographic distribution of the presidency and vice-presidencies of the General Assembly, as well as of the chairmanship of the seven main committees.

[10][11] Apart from allowing member states with related international interests to liaise, discuss and coordinate their voting and other activities at the United Nations, the main function of the regional groups is to distribute membership quotas in United Nations bodies and leadership positions.

According to convention, the non-permanent membership seats of the United Nations Security Council is apportioned between regional groups according to a set formula.

Its territory is composed of land dispersed on all of the continents, but mostly centered in Western Europe and Northern America.

Additionally, the United States acts as an observer, as it is not formally part of any regional group.

[18] The Palestine Liberation Organization has participated in the Asia and the Pacific Group since 2 April 1986 as an observer.

[19][20][21][22] The great variation in size (from 23 to 54) between the regional groups is problematic in that it may mean equal representation is more difficult to achieve.

Aside from Nauru, this proposed bloc may also include Australia and New Zealand (both in the WEOG), Japan, South Korea, the ASEAN countries, and the rest of Oceania.