Sydney: India should not push for urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council as the world will come forward and ask New Delhi to join the UNSC as a permanent member in next 15-20 years, according to a top former diplomat.
India was elected a non-permanent member at the UNSC on Tuesday after a long wait of 19 years. The country registered a terrific win, as 187 of the 191 member states in the General Assembly backed its candidature and one member state abstained from the vote.
India should not bother pushing for a permanent seat now, said M. Rasgotra, former Foreign Secretary and the head of the Observer Research Foundation’s Centre for International Relations.
“Reform of the UN is still 15 or 20 years away. By then India will be a different place and the world will come to us and say come and join it,” Rasgotra said.
Meanwhile, another former Foreign Secretary believes that the United States support for UN reform will be crucial if India is to achieve its goal.
Three of the five permanent members - Russia, France and Britain - back India’s push for a permanent seat, as does Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Lalit Mansingh said India’s election as non-permanent member of UNSC is a precursor to gaining a permanent seat at the UN.
“I believe this will take us closer to permanent membership. Many people in India expect that the time has come for India to be accepted as a permanent member,” Mansingh said.
India has been elected as a non-permanent Security Council member seven times before, most recently in 1991-1992.
But analysts say its performance on the council this time will come under extra scrutiny because of its campaign for permanent membership. The capacity of its foreign policy institutions to make a significant contribution will be tested.