UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Despite being mired by a number of disputes, the fight over United Nations Security Council reform is making some progress as all 192 UN member countries have signed up to the current negotiation effort, the chair of the reform committee said here on Monday.

    "For the first time, there is a light at the end of the tunnel," Zahir Tanin told reporters. "We have come a long way since the launch of discussions (this year) in January."

    The next round of negotiations is to begin on Aug. 27 and will focus on proposals being put forth by the Group of Four (G4) and the group known as United for Consensus, as well as intermediate solutions, said Tanin.

    The 15-nation Council, which has the power to impose sanctions and order military action, has remained more or less the same since its first session after World War II in 1946. While many agree reform is necessary, progress has been stalled by regional rivalries and big powers trying to hold onto their pre-eminence.

    The debate has dragged on for years, with proposals and counterproposals thrown back and forth between members of the United Nations. A variety of plans have been put forward, differing over how many new Council seats should be added, who should get them, whether they should be time-limited or permanent, and whether they should get the right to veto decisions.

    In an April 7 op-ed published in the Guardian, Tanin, who is also the Afghani UN Ambassador, said diplomats were quietly working toward strengthening the Security Council and that progress was being made.

    "This February finally saw the successful launch of real reform negotiations, which I have the privilege of chairing on behalf of the president of the UN general assembly," he wrote.

    "While differences ... remain, all delegations have agreed to work them out at the negotiating table and all aspire to forge a Council that reflects the global realities of the 21st century, not the mid-20th century," he said.

    Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, Tanin said what began as a pipe dream for many is now turning into a reality. With momentum behind reform, member states must "figure out how to exploit this situation."

    Any reform must be approved by two-thirds of the UN's 192 members, including all five permanent Council members.

    Currently, the Council consists of the Permanent Five (P5) -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States --who hold the much-desired power to veto decisions, and 10 elected members who have no right to veto and serve for two-year terms.