Uniting for Consensus

[3] The four countries were united by a rejection of the proposal to increase the number of permanent members of the Security Council, instead desiring to encourage the expansion of non-permanent seats.

[3] The thesis of the Uniting for Consensus group is that the increase of permanent seats would further accentuate the disparity between the member countries and result in the extension of a series of privileges with a cascade effect.

[clarification needed] During the 59th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, the UfC group — led by the representatives of Canada, Italy, and Pakistan — made a proposal[4] that centred on an enlargement of the number of non-permanent members from ten to twenty.

[5] The other members and co-sponsors of the text, entitled "Reform of the Security Council", were listed as Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Malta, Mexico, San Marino, Spain and Turkey.

[10] Italy's active role in current discussions started in February 2009 before the beginning of intergovernmental negotiations, when Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini hosted more than 75 countries to develop a shared path towards a reform of the Security Council.