New York:

Affirming support for the reformation of the United Nations Security Council to better represent the developing world, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said that the United States has long endorsed permanent seats in the council for India, Japan and Germany.

Speaking at the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday (local time), Mr Blinken put forward the US’ idea of two permanent seats for Africa, one rotating seat for Small Island Developing States, and permanent representation for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Reforming the UN Security Council to better represent the developing world and, more broadly, the world as it is today. The United States believes that this should include two permanent seats for Africa, one rotating seat for Small Island Developing States, and permanent representation for Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to the permanent seats for countries, we’ve long endorsed Germany, Japan, and India,” he said.

“The United States supports starting negotiations on Council reforms immediately,” he added.

Mr Blinken conveyed the US’s commitment to adapting the UN system to reflect the current geopolitical situation driving the world, which didn’t exist back in 1945. However, he resolutely opposed to any revision of any reformers, which could alter the core principle of the UN Charter.

“The United States is committed to adapting the UN system to reflect this world of today and tomorrow–not the one that existed in 1945 but we are and we will remain resolutely opposed to revisionism. We will not accept efforts to tear down, dilute, or fundamentally alter the core principle of the UN Charter,” Mr Blinken further said.

Notably, India has long sought a permanent seat in the Security Council to better represent the interests of the developing world. The nation’s quest has gained momentum with support from the international community.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is composed of 15 member states, including five permanent members with veto power and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

The five permanent members of the UNSC include China, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States. The non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are elected for 2-year terms by the UNGA.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address at the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the UN General Assembly in New York, also called for reforms in the global institutions and termed reforms the “key to relevance.”

He also called the African Union’s inclusion as a permanent member in the G20 an “important step” in this direction.

PM Narendra Modi also expressed India’s willingness to share its experiences of success with the Global South. He said that the success of humanity lies in “collective strength” and not the battlefield.

“When we discuss the global future, we must accord the highest priority to a human-centric approach. While prioritising sustainable development, we must also ensure human welfare, food, and health security. By lifting 250 million people out of poverty in India, we have demonstrated that sustainable development can be successful. We are ready to share our experiences of our success with the Global South. The success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not on the battlefield,” PM Modi said.

Later during the special briefing on the Prime Minister’s US visit, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also appreciated that the UN Summit document has a detailed paragraph on UN Security Council reforms, which is a “very good beginning.”

“I would only point you in the direction of the fact that for the first time, a UN Summit document has a detailed paragraph on UN Security Council reform, so it may not have every single detail in every area that we would imagine or we would like there to be but I think it’s a good beginning and we look forward eventually to the beginning of text-based negotiations in a fixed time frame going forward. But this should be seen as the first step towards that objective and the fact that till now we haven’t had discussions based on text but an agreement at this level in the pact that keeps open the possibilities of a reform of the UN system is a gain from any perspective,” he stated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

United Nations:

The lack of adequate geographic representation in the UN Security Council is responsible for its failures, and giving Africa permanent membership will be essential to make the highest decision-making body effective, R. Ravindra, charge d’affaires of India’s UN mission has said.

Speaking on behalf of the G-4, the group of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, on Monday at an open debate of the Council on reforming itself, he said, “A primary reason for the underperformance of this critical institution remains the non-representation of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the under-representation of Asia-Pacific in the permanent category”.

“We are convinced that African representation in both permanent and non-permanent categories will be an indispensable part of UNSC reform for a more representative and effective Council,” he said.

The meeting of the Council was convened by Sierra Leone, which holds the rotating presidency, to push Africa’s case for reforming the Council to give the continent better representation.

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio said, “Despite being home to over 1.3 billion people, and the 54 African countries making up 28 per cent of the total membership of the UN,” Africa continues to suffer from the historic injustice of being deprived of permanent seats at the Council.

“Nearly 80 years after its creation, the Council has been stuck in time” — 1945 when the UN was created while most of Africa was under the colonial yoke perpetuating the injustice, he said.

“Africa demands two permanent seats in the UN Security Council and two additional non-permanent seats” to the existing three, he said.

Mr Ravindra said, “We as G-4 continue to support fully these legitimate demands and aspirations from the people of Africa” and its relationship with the continent ” is anchored in trust and mutual respect and is focused on ensuring that Africa finds its rightful place in a new age of reformed multilateralism”.

“It is also inconceivable that Africa which constitutes over 70 per cent of the UNSC’s agenda items under discussions, does not get a permanent voice at the horse-shoe table” at the Council chamber, he said.

Mr Ravindra said the Inter-governmental Negotiations (IGN) for Council reforms should expedite text-based negotiations so that it can proceed with the reform process in time for the 80th anniversary of the UN next year.

He said that at the summit of G-20 last year under India’s leadership, Africa was given membership in the group of the major industrialised and emerging economies, which was also noted by Bio.

Bio said that Africa’s claim should be treated as a “special case” and given priority in reforming the Council in time for the 80th anniversary next year.

Many speakers at the meeting also emphasised Africa’s case for special expedited treatment in the reform process mired for decades by opposition by a small group of countries that call themselves Uniting for Consensus (UfC) hoping to detach the continent from the controversies involving other countries.

India, its G4 partners that work together to expand the Council, and other countries have counted on Africa’s case for reform to break the stalemate.

But the calls for treating Africa as a “special case” ahead of the Summit of the Future in September and the UN’s 80th anniversary next year seek to make the reform a piecemeal effort — if it happens at all.

Marco Romiti, a Minister Counsellor in the UN Mission of Italy which heads the UfC, spoke out against adding more permanent members.

Munir Akram, the permanent representative of Pakistan, which is also a member of UfC, opposed expanding permanent membership but said that Africa can be considered a special case and be given long-term seats in the Council.

But he, too, was firm against adding permanent members.

Bio was asked outside the Council chamber at his meeting with the media how he hoped to overcome the UfC opposition.

He said Africa has a very compelling case and that is what we are pushing for.

“We don’t consider the opposition,” he said. “We have a genuine case and that is what we are pushing. We know that there are others … it is a total reform, but we are talking for Africa”.

He said he was confident that it was only a matter of time before Africa got its due.

“The gatekeepers will find it difficult to let us in, but as you can see, there is already willingness and as you can see we are gradually inching towards the next steps in order to be able to reach our goal,” he said.

Mr Akram took a dig at India and the G4 saying, “Africa is critically different from the demand of four states for permanent membership for themselves”.

China’s Permanent Representative Fu Cong also threw in criticism against India and the G4, saying that there were “a few countries and interest groups who pursue their own selfish and small-circle interests when it comes to Council reform”.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the “cracks” in the Council’s “foundation are becoming too large to ignore”.

“They are contributing to deadlock, stalemate and stagnation around today’s most pressing crises and they are feeding a broader crisis of credibility and legitimacy that is affecting multilateralism itself,” he said.

“We cannot accept that the world’s preeminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people — a young and rapidly growing population — making up 28 per cent of the membership of the United Nations,” he said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)