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India at The United Nations Security Council Reforms
India at The United Nations Security Council Reforms
Introduction
India’s run for permanent membership in UNSC
o Why the reforms at UNSC are unavoidable now?
To meet the evolved Geopolitics
UNSC was composed by victors of the Second World
War in 1945 to suit their interests and the UN Charter was
designed accordingly, giving to themselves the permanent
membership and veto power in the council.
However, the geopolitical, strategic, economic realities
have changed considerably since then, but the UNSC has
not reformed itself to these global realities
Inadequate representation
With global economic and population fulcrum shifting to
Indo-Pacific, inadequate Asian representation and no
African and Latin American representation are pushing
UN to irrelevance, unless it reforms itself
Powerplay of the P5
Currently, the governing capacity of the International
security relations rests with the elite class of countries
The veto powers enjoyed by the permanent members of
UNSC doesn’t seem to suit the current global security
needs
Further, the UNSC has not been successful in
understanding the International changes and dynamics in
the area of human security and peace
o The Indian attempts at joining various regimes like the MTCR(Missile
Technology Control Regime) and the ongoing, high-pitched campaign to
join the NSG amply indicate that India is no more satisfied with being
either the target or a mere follower of various international norms and
rules, and now wants to shape and align them to suit Indian ideas and
interests
Way forward
o India should begin playing an active role, rather than pursuing a policy
of silence on most of the issues in international security which UNSC
permanent members are often concerned with, from nuclear proliferation
in Iran and North Korea, to human rights violations in Syria
o India could also think of aligning its foreign policy on a more coherent
note, to better impact its presence in the Geopolitics of the world
o On the whole, a permanent membership to India in UNSC will ensure
representation of the developing and underdeveloped world
Further, India can also significantly contribute to the misuse of
veto power and represent the interest of not only India but also
the underdeveloped countries and make United Nations a more
democratic global governing institute
United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
It is one of the UN’s six main organs and is aimed at maintaining international peace
and security.
It held its first session on 17th January 1946 in Westminster, London.
Headquarters: New York City.
Membership:The Council is composed of 15 Members:
o Permanent members with veto power :
China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
o Ten non-permanent members :
Albania ,Brazil,Gabon,Ghana ,India,Ireland ,Kenya ,Mexico ,Norway,Uni
ted Arab Emirates
More than 50 United Nations Member States have never been
Members of the Security Council.
o Due to the differences among the P-5 and other countries, the UN is losing coherence
and focusing on issues of priority to all member states.
o The council’s lack of multilateralism has also been criticised in the wake of
the Syrian war crisis and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
o No veto rights leave the non-permanent members toothless as they cannot assert
their will on any matter of international concern and can merely persuade or dissuade
other member states.
o India has also constantly pointed to the lack of movement on reforms in the UNSC.
Membership of UNSC: Since its inception, the UNSC has been enlarged only once.
Even after that, P-5 has remained fixed, which is problematic as the
membership of the UN has grown almost four times since its formation.
Veto Power: It has been the exclusive domain of P-5 members, which has been
questioned by a lot of members.
o Many countries have put question marks on the existence of veto, which is contrary
to democratic principles.
Way Forward
India began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) on January 1 2021 .
It is for the eighth time that India has assumed this position.
o Prior to this, India was a non-permanent member for 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73,
1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.
India took over the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on
August 1 2021
o Presidency entails presiding over council meetings, coordinating actions,
deciding the content of UNSC debates and more.
China challenge: India has entered the UNSC at a time when China is asserting itself at
the global stage much more vigorously than ever.
o It heads at least six UN organisations — and has challenged the global rules.
o China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the India-China
border, has been visible and India will have to think on its feet to counter China.
o China has aggressively tried to raise the issue of Kashmir at the UNSC.
Unstable West Asia and US-Russia relations: With relations between the US and
Russia are deteriorating and India has the challenge to balance both.
o Even India has to opt balanced approach in the case of Israel and Palestinian and
West Asia approach.