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.
 

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United Nations:

India has criticised a model for the UN Security Council presented by the Uniting for Consensus group that includes Pakistan, saying it stands against the idea supported by a majority of member states to expand permanent and non-permanent seats and underscored that the world of the 21st century “desperately needs a UN 2.0”.

The Uniting for Consensus or UfC comprises Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, San Marino, Spain, and Turkiye. China, a permanent member, and Indonesia are participating in the group as Observers.

The UfC group is opposed to the creation of new permanent members in the Security Council. The UfC model entails a Security Council with 26 seats, with an increase only in the non-permanent, elected members. It proposes creating 9 new long-term seats with immediate re-election possibilities.

“Threats to international peace and security have become more complex, unpredictable and undefined. The world of the twenty-first century desperately needs a UN 2.0 that is credible, representative, reflecting the needs and aspirations of the member states and capable of maintaining peace and security,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said in response to the UfC model presented by Italy at the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) meeting on UNSC reforms on Monday.

“The UfC which comprises 12 countries and 2 observers including a P5 country stands against the idea espoused by a majority of UN member states, namely that of the expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories,” she said.

Ms Kamboj asked how the UfC model represents Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Africa, a 54-member group, is calling for expansion in both categories. “When Africa themselves are asking for expansion in both categories of membership, isn’t it uncalled for to do what Africa was subjected to in perpetuity in the past – which is deciding on their behalf? I would look forward to hearing from you on the rationale of deciding that Africa amongst others should not be represented in the permanent category,” she said.

Ms Kamboj said the point on Africa also extends to the member states from the Global South.

She said India “believes that without representation, without a mandate, a seat, a voice – which representation entails, members of the Global South would just come and go, which I am afraid will be unacceptable to a large number of Global South countries in CARICOM, Arab group, Africa and others”.

Ms Kamboj stressed that for India, the “non-negotiable” aim is equitable representation of Global South and Africa in the permanent category. “African Union became a member of the G20 during India’s Presidency. We hope the UN, a much older institution, takes inspiration from this change.”

“Would the UfC solution of only adding 12 more non-permanent members make any difference to the dysfunctional dynamics of the UNSC emanating from the outdated composition of its Permanent category,” Ms Kamboj said.

And given that the statement today suggested no change in P5 composition is being made on behalf of also the country which is represented in the Permanent category. “Is that not a conflict of interest?,” she asked, referring to China.

The UN Security Council currently consists of five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. The remaining 10 nations in the Council are elected to sit as non-permanent members for two-year terms and do not have veto powers.

Earlier this month, India presented a detailed model on behalf of the G4 nations for Security Council reform. The G4 model proposes that the Security Council’s membership increase from the current 15 to 25-26, by adding six permanent and four or five non-permanent members.

Ms Kamboj asserted that there is nothing from the UfC group on text-based negotiations within a fixed time frame.

“To say ‘let us agree before we start negotiations’ is like giving every member country a veto. And while vetoes may be used in the UNSC, in UNGA we don’t operate on the basis of vetoes. Thus, when asking for an impossible consensus preceding text-based negotiations, isn’t UfC just vetoing the whole process, and suggesting ‘a my way or highway approach?” she said.

Ms Kamboj said the UfC model does not provide any checks or balances to the current issues related to the imbalances between the permanent members and the non-permanent members and it would not empower Africa or other developing countries.
 

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

New Delhi:

Joining the chorus for reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik, who is currently on a visit to India, said Minsk would support India’s call for a permanent seat in the world body.

Addressing a media briefing in the national capital on Wednesday, the Belarussian Foreign Minister stressed the urgency for reforms in the UNSC, adding, “We (Belarus) also discussed this issue and are convinced that UNSC reforms should be facilitated. It is a long-lasting issue which is being discussed within the UN, taking into account the very fragile situation in the world today.”

“We also expressed ourselves during the 78th Session of the General Assembly and in our official statement during the 78 Session of the General Assembly, we made it very clear that we would support the accession of India to the Security Council,” he added.

Speaking on his meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, Aleinik said, “We share views towards creating a more just, fair, and multipolar world order. We also hold the same views on the principles of international relations. So the core principles are equality of states and, the balance of interests of each and every country.”

“We also touched upon our cooperation in the SCO, as well as BRICS, and expressed our appreciation for the support that India extended to our application for full-fledged membership in the SCO,” Belarussian FM added on his sit-down with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar.

He said India was the first country to ratify the memorandum on Belarus’ accession to the SCO, adding that he also discussed Belarus’ membership of the BRICS during his talks with the EAM.

The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues, affirming to work towards further enhancing bilateral cooperation between India and Belarus to a ‘strategic partnership’ level, he added.

“We touched upon BRICS because Belarus also applied for full-fledged membership of the grouping. We look forward to positive consideration by the growing number of member states of BRICS since the last summit in Johannesburg,” Aleinik said.

He stated further that his country’s accession to the SCO is in its final stage and they are hopeful of ‘complete accession’ in the coming months.

On BRICS membership, he said they are expecting some positive developments in the forthcoming summit in Astana, Kazakhstan in October this year.

Earlier, on Tuesday, EAM Jaishankar held discussions with his Belarusian counterpart on bilateral ties, including development partnerships in the field of defence. The two leaders delved into various facets encompassing political, trade, and economic dimensions.

On his India visit, the Belarusian Foreign Minister held meetings with prominent leaders and ministers, holding discussions on boosting ties between the two countries across sectors and spheres.

His visit, which started on March 11 and is scheduled to culminate on March 13, aims at strengthening bilateral ties.

Aleinik’s departure is scheduled for Wednesday night, marking the conclusion of his brief yet pivotal diplomatic mission to India, the Ministry of External Affairs stated in a release.

Mr Jaishankar last met his counterpart from Belarus in the Ugandan capital Kampala on January 19 on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit.

During the meeting, Mr Jaishankar and his Belarusian counterpart held discussions on developments related to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

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