India advocates for inclusive approach and decisive action on UN Security Council reform
- In Reports
- 03:51 PM, Apr 16, 2024
- Myind Staff
India has urged for decisive action on Security Council reform, advocating for an inclusive framework that accurately represents today's dynamic global landscape.
During the 6th round of intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform held on Tuesday (local time), Ruchira Kamboj, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York, stated that India supports the expansion of UN Security Council membership in both permanent and non-permanent categories.
Kamboj asserted that India believes this is the sole means to achieve genuine reform of the Security Council and ensure its legitimacy, representativeness, responsiveness, and effectiveness.
Kamboj highlighted India's stance during the intergovernmental negotiations, emphasising the necessity for a Security Council that adequately represents the geographical and developmental diversity of the United Nations.
She stressed the importance of reforming the Council to ensure the inclusion of developing countries and underrepresented regions, such as Africa, Latin America, and most of Asia and the Pacific.
According to Kamboj, India's position enjoys widespread support from the majority of member states, a fact documented in the 2015 framework document on categories of membership.
Kamboj stressed that out of the 122 member states who submitted their positions in the framework document, 113 supported expansion in both existing categories outlined in the charter. She underscored that this indicates over 90 percent of the written submissions in the document favoured expansion in both categories of membership specified in the charter.
Kamboj stated, "The idea of longer-term non-permanent seats, which was initially proposed during the establishment of the United Nations but later discarded due to its inefficacy, cannot be considered a consensus as it is only supported by a small number of member states."
She emphasised that this information is readily available in the 2015 framework document and must be clearly reflected in the next updated version of the elements paper.
Kamboj highlighted the common perception within the council that expanding the permanent category would be undemocratic. She expressed confusion over how a measure supported by the majority could be deemed undemocratic and urged against being influenced by a minority in negotiations. Kamboj emphasised the urgent need for Security Council reform, stating that expansion in only the non-permanent category would not address the issue.
Kamboj clarified that the current discussion revolves around establishing a framework for creating new permanent seats, not specific member states occupying them. She explained that the subsequent election of these new members would require a two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly through a secret ballot.
Kamboj emphasised the need for strong reform-oriented language in the future pact, stressing that text-based negotiations are essential for the intergovernmental negotiation framework. She asserted that the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) must commence text-based negotiations to provide language for the process, which operates on the basis of negotiation and compromise.
Image source: ANI
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