Sitting at the head of the high table, the UN Security Council, this month, India on Friday was quite blunt in calling for its reform, and its own ascension as a permanent member: The UNSC in its present structure “serves no one's purpose“, “is polarised and politically divided“, “is completely out of tune with global realities“, and some of the current permanent members would find it “extremely difficult to justify their place on a new high table“, India's permanent representative to the UN Hardeep Puri said.
India, which assumed this month's presidency of the Security Council ahead of the expiry of its two-year term as a non-permanent member on December 31, said the UN body has been “polarised and politically divided“ on key issues like Syria and this strengthened the case for its reform, with permanent representation for Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. He said there could be consensus around modestly expanding the Council or increasing the number of members to about 25.
“To give the Council effectiveness there is need to enlarge its size. India’s point of view is that the Security Council needs to be more transparent,” he said.
On the use of veto, Puri said while it veto should be retained, there should be a discussion on the precise conditions under which it should be exercised. “There could be a veto restraint agreement.” Expansion of the Council did not mean “some permanent members should come off the high table but they need to bring on board other countries which carry weight, participate in the Council’s work and will lend credibility to its image and functioning,” he said.