India has criticised the continued delay in reforming the UN Security Council, accusing a small group of countries of holding the process hostage through procedural tactics…reports Asian Lite News Desk
India has criticised the continued deadlock over reform of the United Nations Security Council, accusing a small group of countries of blocking progress and holding the reform process “hostage” through procedural manoeuvres.
The remarks came after the UN General Assembly on Tuesday voted by consensus to roll over the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform to its 81st session, which begins in September. The decision extends a process that has now continued for 17 sessions without a negotiated outcome.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, P. Harish, expressed frustration at the lack of progress, comparing the repeated negotiations to the cycle of rebirth in Indian philosophy.
“In Indian philosophy, it is said that a soul has to go through cycles of births and deaths, making incremental progress each time, before attaining liberation. The IGN have been through seventeen cycles already. Sadly, however, there is no liberation in sight. How much longer should the world wait?” Harish said.
He said the negotiations remained stalled even as confidence in the Security Council’s ability to respond effectively to global conflicts continued to decline.
“There is a palpable sense of disappointment among Member States and global citizenry regarding the inability of the Security Council to meaningfully intervene in conflicts across the globe,” Harish said.
“Every session that we spend regurgitating our positions from the comfort of New York, the hope for a fit-for-purpose UN grows weaker in the real world,” he added.
India has repeatedly argued that the reform process is being obstructed by the 13-member Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, led by Italy and including Pakistan. According to New Delhi, the group has used procedural tactics to prevent the adoption of a negotiating text, insisting on consensus before discussions can formally move forward.
Harish reiterated India’s demand for text-based negotiations, saying they should proceed with clearly defined timelines and milestones.
“The path to securing such reforms is clear – text-based negotiations with clearly defined timelines and milestones. The outcome of such a genuine effort must lead to an expansion in both categories, with greater representation of the Global South,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the G4 nations, Japan’s Permanent Representative Yamazaki Kazuyuki urged the co-chairs of the negotiations to prepare a consolidated model that accurately reflects the positions of member states and paves the way for text-based negotiations.
The G4, comprising India, Brazil, Japan and Germany, has long campaigned for an expanded Security Council that includes additional permanent members.
Yamazaki said it was “deeply regrettable” that the current Elements Paper, which outlines issues under discussion, did not adequately reflect what he described as majority support among UN member states for expanding both permanent and non-permanent membership of the Security Council.
Saint Lucia’s Permanent Representative Menissa Rambally, speaking on behalf of the L69 group of developing countries advocating Security Council reform, also called for the consolidation of reform proposals into a single negotiating document.
“This is a mandate for the eighty-first session, not an aspiration to be deferred indefinitely,” Rambally said.
