The need to reform the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) cannot be denied forever, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has said, although he has pointed out that India has never believed that the renewal of the highest body of the world body an easy process.
India has been at the forefront of years of efforts to reform the Security Council, asserting that it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member of the United Nations.
Currently, the UNSC has five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Only a permanent member has the power to veto any substantive resolution.
India, which is currently a non-permanent member of the 15-nation UNSC, will complete its two-year term in December this year. In the month of December, India will preside over the Security Council.
“We have never thought that it was an easy process. But we believe that the need for reform cannot be denied forever,” Jaishankar told a group of Indian journalists in Washington on Wednesday, responding to a question about the seriousness of the United States in reforming the Security Council.
“It is my understanding that President Joe Biden’s position is the most explicit and specific of US support for reform of the UN, including the Security Council,” he said on the last day of his visit to the United States.
“So I don’t think it’s a reiteration of anything, I don’t think in that sense, it’s business as usual. Now, how this goes, where it goes, I think it depends on all of us: the members of the UN, and where we take it », he said.
“It is not the responsibility of a single country, however powerful it may be. I think it is a collective effort that the members of the UN have to make. We have been pushing the reform effort, including through the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN). And we also know where the reluctance comes from and we will continue to focus on it,” Jaishankar said.
In December, India will preside over the Security Council
Jaishankar said on Saturday that negotiations for much-needed UN Security Council reforms must not be blocked by procedural tactics and that critics cannot hold the process “hostage in perpetuity.”
“India is ready to take on greater responsibilities. But at the same time, he wants to make sure that the injustice faced by the Global South is tackled decisively,” Jaishankar said in his intervention at the General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
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“In our mandate, we have acted as a bridge on some serious but divisive issues facing the Council. We have also focused on concerns such as maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism,” he said.
He also said that India believes that multipolarity, rebalancing, fair globalization and reformed multilateralism cannot be kept in abeyance.
The call for a reformed multilateralism with Security Council reforms at its core enjoys considerable support among UN members, he said in his speech at the UNGA.
Jaishankar said on Saturday that negotiations for much-needed UN Security Council reforms must not be blocked by procedural tactics and that critics cannot hold the process “hostage in perpetuity.”
Jaishankar and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres discussed Security Council reform and the situation in Ukraine and Myanmar during their meeting in New York.
Jaishankar met Guterres at the United Nations headquarters on Saturday after Guterres addressed the high-level UN General Assembly.
“An extensive discussion on pressing global challenges with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The agenda included Ukraine conflict, UN reform, G20, climate action, food security and data for development,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Article republished from The Wire as part of an agreement between both parties to share content. Link to original article: https://thewire.in/diplomacy/the-need-for-unsc-reform-cannot-be-denied-forever-jaishankar
