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India on Wednesday called for urgent reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying the world body's decision-making structure must reflect present-day realities and give greater representation to the Global South.
Addressing the UNSC Open Debate on Working Methods, Charge d'Affaires of India's Permanent Mission to the UN, Ambassador Yojna Patel, said the need for reforming the Security Council was "more pronounced and pressing than ever before". "The world of 1945 has changed beyond recognition. UN membership has grown fourfold since then. The outcome of one conflict 80 years ago cannot determine the composition, dynamics, approaches and working methods for perpetuity. This needs to change and must happen at the earliest," Patel said. She said India's position on UNSC reforms was well known and called for expansion in both categories of membership, with greater representation for developing countries. "We seek an expansion in both categories, with greater representation for the Global South. This could be achieved only through text-based negotiations, with clearly defined milestones and timelines," she said. Patel highlighted that discussions on improving the UNSC's working methods should be part of broader reforms, including membership categories, regional representation and the veto issue. "A discussion on improvement of UNSC working methods must not be done in isolation. It is an important aspect of the broader umbrella of UNSC reforms and inherently linked to other clusters," she said. She also raised concerns over the continued provisional nature of the Security Council's Rules of Procedure, saying existing frameworks should not be cited as an obstacle to implementing reforms. "The provisional nature of these Rules also suggests that they could be amended suitably from time to time. Therefore, existing working methods must not be cited as a challenge or obstacle to implement reforms, particularly in terms of expanding the membership," Patel said. Calling for greater transparency, India said non-permanent members of the Security Council should have equal access to documents and information. "All Security Council members must enjoy the same set of privileges in terms of access to documents. Access to historical documents must not be the exclusive preserve of a few," she said. Patel also stressed that countries contributing troops and police for UN peacekeeping missions must have a role in decision-making on key issues. "TCCs and PCCs go far beyond the UNSC membership. Therefore, as direct stakeholders, they must be part of the UNSC decision-making architecture pertaining to all key questions of peacekeeping, such as mandates and resources," she said. India also urged the Security Council to resolve delays in finalising chairs of subsidiary bodies, calling for a fixed timeline for the process. "India calls on the Security Council to urgently address this issue and finalise the Chairs on priority. Moving forward, Note 507 must be suitably amended so as to have a definitive and non-negotiable timeline for finalising the Chairs of subsidiary bodies," Patel said. On the issue of terrorism, Patel said UNSC membership should not be used to pursue political interests. "Presence in the Security Council must not be instrumentalised to legitimise terrorists by attempting to de-list them or to list other entities as terrorist organisations based solely on political considerations, without any objective criteria or supporting documentation," she said. In her concluding remarks, Patel called for stronger coordination between the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, describing the latter as the "most universal and democratic arm of the UN". "Working Methods of the Security Council must be reviewed suitably in order to pave the way for closer interaction of the Security Council with the other principal organs," she said. (ANI)
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