UNITED NATIONS: India has strongly opposed proposals to reform the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by expanding only its non-permanent membership, arguing that such a move would fail to address the body’s long-standing imbalance in decision-making power.
Speaking at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, P Harish, said that limiting expansion to non-permanent seats would leave the authority of the five permanent members — United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and the United States — unchanged. He said countries have waited decades for meaningful reform and warned that changes limited to non-permanent seats would be “grossly inadequate” and close to failure.
Harish also criticised efforts that, in India’s view, have slowed the reform process. Without naming the group directly, he referred to countries that support maintaining the status quo. His remarks were widely seen as targeting Uniting for Consensus, a coalition led by Italy and including Pakistan, which opposes the creation of new permanent seats.
According to Harish, one of the main obstacles to progress has been resistance to adopting a formal negotiating text that could serve as the basis for discussions. He argued that negotiations should proceed through a written text, as is standard practice in other UN processes, and urged the IGN co-chairs to prepare a draft with clear milestones and timelines. Reiterating India’s long-standing position, Harish said expanding permanent membership is essential to making the Security Council more representative, balanced, and equitable. He argued that the current structure reflects the power realities of the post-World War II era and does not adequately represent today’s global landscape.
Harish also criticised the IGN co-chairs’ “Elements Paper” for suggesting further discussion on the concept of permanency. He said the United Nations Charter already clearly distinguishes between permanent and non-permanent members under Article 23, leaving no ambiguity about the meaning of a permanent seat. According to India, genuine UNSC reform must therefore include an expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. (IANS)
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