India Demands Swift Action on UNSC Reforms After Quarter-Century Wait

Last Updated on March 11, 2024 3:07 pm

Expressing growing impatience, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, has issued a strong call for immediate reforms to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Addressing the 78th session’s informal meeting on Security Council reforms, Kamboj voiced frustration over the protracted discussions, pointing out that almost 25 years have passed since world leaders committed to comprehensive reforms at the Millennium Summit in 2000.

“Discussions on the reforms of the Security Council have been ongoing earnestly for well over a decade since the early 1990s. The world and our future generations can no longer wait. How much longer must they wait?” questioned Kamboj, emphasizing the urgency of introducing reforms to the global institution. As the world approaches the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, Kamboj urged concrete progress towards reforms and underscored the importance of addressing historical injustices, particularly in Africa, while listening to the younger generation’s voices.

Warning against maintaining the status quo, Kamboj proposed a more inclusive approach, cautioning that limiting the expansion of the Security Council to non-permanent members could lead to increased disparities in its composition. She stressed the need for representativeness and equitable participation in the Council’s composition to bolster its overall legitimacy. Addressing concerns about the veto power, Kamboj emphasized that it should not obstruct the reform process. She called for flexibility on the veto issue during constructive negotiations and proposed that new permanent members should refrain from exercising the veto until a decision is made during a review.

“While the new permanent members would have the same responsibilities and obligations as current permanent members, they shall not exercise the veto until a decision on the matter has been taken during a review,” Kamboj stated. “Nonetheless, and therefore I say that we should not allow the veto issue to have a veto over the process of reform itself,” she added.

The G4, consisting of India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan, echoed India’s call for increased representation in the non-permanent category, emphasizing the importance of reflecting the diversity and plurality of views from the 193 member states. In a pragmatic move, Kamboj suggested identifying specific groups or countries that deserve special consideration in the reform process and listening attentively to their voices.

“Member states should make full use of the possibility of cross-regional arrangements to ensure that the diversity of the General Assembly membership is adequately reflected in the Council. To move the discussion from the abstract to the concrete, it would be useful for member states to first identify and define which specific groups or countries deserve special consideration in this regard and then carefully listen to their voices,” she said. Earlier on February 17, Kamboj also highlighted India’s support for comprehensive reforms of the United Nations Security Council across all five clusters, including an expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. (ANI)