India Warns of ‘Danger’ of UN Being ‘Superseded’ Unless Security Council is Urgently Reformed

New Delhi has consistently advocated for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the General Assembly in 2020 that reforms in the processes and the character of the UN remained the "need of the hour."

India has cautioned that there’s a “danger of the United Nations being superseded by other plurilateral and multilateral groupings” unless the Security Council is urgently reformed to represent the interests of developing countries.

Addressing the UNSC briefing on "common security" in Manhattan on Monday, India’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Ruchira Kamboj warned that the global grouping will be “confronted with a crisis of credibility” among developing nations unless it reforms itself.

The Indian diplomat remarked that it was difficult for developing countries to aspire for “common security” while the Global South is denied representation in the decision-making process, especially when a majority of the issues being dealt with at the council's meetings were about the Asian continent.

“The most urgent thing therefore for us to do is to make the Security Council more representative of developing countries, so as to reflect current geopolitical realities,” Kamboj said.

“We have contributed immensely to maintaining international peace and security as one of the largest troop contributing country towards UN peacekeeping missions, having sacrificed the highest number of lives in that noble endeavor,” Kamboj underlined.

She also noted that the Indian government had supplied COVID vaccines and other medical equipment to more than 150 countries around the world since the onset of the pandemic, which she said showed New Delhi’s role as a “reliable” partner for other governments.

“In my country, which now represents more than a sixth of humanity, we believe that until we reform, perform and transform multilateral governance structures, we would be continuing to [be] found wanting,” the Indian representative remarked.

The UNSC currently comprises five permanent members — Russia, the US, France, China, and the United Kingdom (UK) — and 10 non-permanent members, the latter being elected for a two-year term. All five permanent members enjoy the right to veto any Security Council decision.

India, along with other major countries such as Brazil, Germany, and Japan (collectively known as the G4), have argued that the UN will only remain relevant if it reflects the realities of the “contemporary world,” a proposition which includes permanent seats for developing nations.

As far as India’s UNSC membership is concerned, Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said last January that New Delhi’s bid is being blocked by Beijing.

Beijing has stated that it is ready to work with all stakeholders in carrying out the UNSC reforms through consultations in Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN), an intra-UN group tasked with the process.

“To start text-based negotiation in a haste or to impose a single document is not conducive to building a consensus and promoting unity,” the Chinese permanent mission to the UN said back in 2020, amid criticism from India about the protracted negotiation process.