UN Security Council: Calling for immediate reform of the UN Security Council, India said its current structure is “perverse and immoral”. It is a perpetuation of the colonisation project and does not reflect the rise of new powers and shifting geopolitical landscape, India said at a Roundtable on Security Council Reform at the UN headquarters.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchika Kamboj saidm “The current composition of the Security Council no longer aligns with the realities of our interconnected and multi-polar world.”
‘Does not reflect the rise of new powers’
“The Council structure, designed in a different era, does not reflect the rise of new powers, the shifting geopolitical landscape and the aspirations of nations striving for a fairer and more equitable global order,” Kamboj said.
“Climate change, terrorism, pandemics, and humanitarian crises require collective efforts and shared responsibilities,” she said, adding that a reformed Security Council will “enable us to pool resources, expertise and perspectives from a wider range of countries, empowering us to confront these issues with greater effectiveness and unity.”
‘Seize the opportunity’
She asserted that the “time for Security Council reform is now,” and called on the Member States to “seize” the opportunity to revitalize and strengthen the United Nations by making it more inclusive, representative and responsive to the needs and aspirations of all nations.
President of India’s leading think tank Observer Research Foundation’s (ORF) Samir Saran said that in a deeply heterogenous, multipolar world, it is “untenable” that a group of victors of war from another century should be in charge of managing the world of today.
“The war is history and so is the influence and capabilities of some of the members in the room. I think the current structure of the UNSC is perverse and immoral. It is a perpetuation for many of us from the Global South of the colonisation project. The burden of the war was borne by the colonies while the privileges of peace benefited the colonisers and their allies,” he said.
Saran noted that in the past decades, “we have seen how the will of the comity of nations has been negated by one or more of the permanent members” of the Council. China, France, Russia, the UK and the US make up the five permanent members of the 15-nation Council.
‘Ukraine a classic example’
“More recently, Ukraine presents a classic example of the Security Council’s failure to deliver and is a stark reminder of why status quo is untenable,” he said.
“The voting patterns, the abstentions on Ukraine matter clearly point to the need to bring in others who can contribute to the global efforts around peace and stability.”
Calling the current UNSC as inefficient, undemocratic and non-representative, Saran questioned “How can we accept a structure that shuts out Africa, Latin America and democratic Asia, including the world’s largest nation and democracy,” making a reference to India.
Global South Think Tanks’ perspective
Other panelists at the roundtable ‘Shifting the Balance: Perspectives on United Nations Security Council Reforms from Global South Think Tanks’ included Professor of International Relations at FGV (Brazil) and Visiting Scholar at Princeton University Matias Spektor and Senior Researcher, South Africa Institute of International Affairs Gustavo de Carvalho.
President of the UN General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, UN Ambassadors, delegates, civil society and think tank members, policy experts and thought leaders attended the event.
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