UNSC, India’s run for permanent membership in UNSC

Introduction

 The UN Security Council is the premier global body for

maintaining International peace and security
 The Security Council, the United Nations’ principal crisis-management body,
is empowered to impose binding obligations on the 193 UN member states to
maintain peace
 The Security Council, the United Nations’ principal crisis-management body,
is empowered to impose binding obligations on the member states to maintain
peace
 The council’s five permanent and ten elected members  meet regularly to
assess threats to international security, including civil wars, natural disasters,
arms proliferation, and terrorism
 Structurally, the council remains largely unchanged since its founding in
1946, stirring debate among members about the need for reforms
o Composition of UN Security Council
 The UN Security Council is composed of 15 members,
including five permanent member states – China, France,
Russian Federation, the United States, and the United Kingdom –
and 10 non-permanent member states, which are elected by the
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
 Ten non-permanent members are elected to the UNSC every year
for a two-year term
 The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed among the regions of
the world: five seats for African and Asian countries (three are
for Africa and two for Asia), one for Eastern European countries,
two for Latin American and Caribbean countries, and the
remaining two for Western European and other countries.
 The Africa and Asia Pacific group takes turns every two
years to put up an Arab candidate
o How does presidency of UNSC rotate?
 Each non-permanent member gets the opportunity to operate as
president of the UN Security Council during the two years it is
part of the grouping.
  The presidency of UNSC changes hands every month between its
members in the English alphabetical order of the member states’
names
o Powers of the UNSC President
 According to the UNSC’s official website, the presidency derives
responsibility from the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the
United Nations Security Council as well as UNSC’s practice.
 The holder of the presidency is considered to be the  ‘face’ and
spokesperson of the UNSC.
 Responsibilities of the UNSC president include:
 Calling meetings of the UN Security Council
 Appealing to parties in a conflict to “exercise restraint”
 Reading statements of the UN Security Council to the
press
 Approving provisional agenda (proposed by the secretary-
general)
 Presiding at UNSC meetings and deciding questions
relating to policy and overseeing any crisis
o Veto power of UNSC member states
 The UN defines ‘veto’ as a “special voting power“, which
provides that “if any one of the five permanent members cast a
negative vote in (UNSC), the resolution or decision would not be
approved”.
 However, the “veto power” is restricted to P5 member states of
the UN Security Council. Non-permanent members of the UNSC
do not enjoy this privilege.
 Article 27 of the UN Charter says each member of the UNSC
shall have one vote and that decisions on “procedural matters”
shall require no more than the affirmative vote of nine out of the
15 members.
 It is important to note that decisions on any other matter need not
only an affirmative vote of nine members but also the concurring
votes of the permanent members.

 
 
India’s run for permanent membership in UNSC


 o Why the reforms at UNSC are unavoidable now?
 To meet the evolved Geopolitics
 UNSC was composed by victors of the Second World
War in 1945 to suit their interests and the UN Charter was
designed accordingly, giving to themselves the permanent
membership and veto power in the council.
 However, the geopolitical, strategic, economic realities
have changed considerably since then, but the UNSC has
not reformed itself to these global realities
 Inadequate representation
 With global economic and population fulcrum shifting to
Indo-Pacific, inadequate Asian representation and no
African and Latin American representation are pushing
UN to irrelevance, unless it reforms itself
 Powerplay of the P5
 Currently, the governing capacity of the International
security relations rests with the elite class of countries
 The veto powers enjoyed by the permanent members of
UNSC doesn’t seem to suit the current global security
needs
 Further, the UNSC has not been successful in
understanding the International changes and dynamics in
the area of human security and peace

 In this perspective, in a truly ‘’historic’’ move to  reforming global

governance in the arena of international peace and security, the 193 member-
United Nations adopted a consensus resolution in its 69th General Assembly
on September 14, 2015 to move from Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN)
to a Text-Based Negotiations (TBN) process for reforming the United
Nations Security Council
 

 Why India should be granted permanent membership?

o Emerging Global Power
 India, after 75 years of independence, has emerged as one of the
major powers in global politics; which represents one-sixth of the
global population
 It is also the world’s fifth largest economy and third largest in
terms of purchasing power parity as of 2020.
 Also, India has taken the lead in calling for New International
Economic Order (NIEO) by reforming the international
organizations
 Further, at times of challenges, India has been at the forefront in
raising its voice for cooperation and shared responsibilities.
o Long Historical ties with UN
 India shares a long historic relationship with the UN and its
contemporary role in the global arena
 India’s contribution to the international community is undeniable.
 India also adheres to the Principle of Panchsheel whose
relevance is timeless
 The principle of Panchsheel is based on Mutual respect for
sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and
peaceful coexistence. These principles can be highly
significant to UN Charter to work towards peace and security in
cooperation
o India’s stand on disarmament and non-violence
 India has stood to uphold non-discriminatory and transparent
working in international organisations
  India has time and again reiterated its stand as a responsible
nuclear weapons state and its deterrence to no first use and non-
use against non-nuclear states
 India has often criticised the discriminatory and undemocratic
nature of the NPT (Non-proliferation treaty)
o Active International participation
 India has been an active participant in international events and
treaties like UN peacekeeping mission, development goals,
sustainable development, climate change and anti-terrorism
 India has provided more than 200,000 officers to UN
peacekeeping missions
 India is also contributed to the UN in fighting against global
challenges such as terrorism, climate change, energy security,
refugee crisis, pandemics and restructuring the existing
international economic world order
o As an added representative from Asian region
 In the recent times, India’s shift from non-alignment to multi-
alignment shows that India can maintain good parallel relations
with all major and minor powers in the international system
 India’s membership can be demanded based on its economic
growth, size, democratization, political stability, the rise of soft-
power, nuclear power, military power and its emergence as a
rising power in the South Asian region

 Tracing India’s run to permanent membership at UNSC

o In 1992, India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan (referred as G4) had put up
their claims and logic for demanding inclusion as permanent members
 Besides G4 countries South Africa (largest economy in African
Continent) is also a claimant, as the Continent remains
unrepresented on high table of permanent members
o In retaliation, the pitch for reforms of G4 was lowered by their
regional rivals like Italy, Pakistan, Mexico and Egypt, which started
formulation of another interest group, known to be “Uniting for
Consensus” opposing G4 becoming permanent members with a veto
power.
o The efforts for expansion of UNSC and reforms were also made in the
form of the General Assembly Task Force on Security Council Reform
and 2005 Kofi Annan’s Plan to expand to 24 member UNSC, with
 various combinations for equitable representation, but  none of the
initiatives have worked so far
o The USA has time and again supported India’s bid for permanent
membership in 2010 and again in 2017
o Recently in 2020, France also supported India’s candidacy for
permanent seat in the UNSC

 What would be India’s aspirations being a permanent member at UNSC?

o Being a “pen holder” as the permanent member of the Security Council,
India would similarly assume the mantle of international peace and
security decision-making
o The powerful body would provide it the much needed leverage to
expand its global geo-political and geo-economic clout
 It would serve as an equaliser to China and an emerging
hegemon in Asia, and an ever increasing strategic and security
concern in its immediate neighbourhood and beyond
o As India’s international profile and capabilities rise due to its ever
expanding global and regional footprint in diverse areas such as politics,
development, economics, culture and science and technology, India
wishes to shift its international position from a rule taker (a
constrained role) to a rule maker (a system shaping role)


o The Indian attempts at joining various regimes like the MTCR(Missile
Technology Control Regime) and the ongoing, high-pitched campaign to
join the NSG amply indicate that India is no more satisfied with being
either the target or a mere follower of various international norms and
rules, and now wants to shape and align them to suit Indian ideas and
interests

 Indian strategies for a permanent seat at UNSC

 India has adopted a multi-layered strategy to assume the highly coveted
permanent seat in the Security Council
 The Indian strategy of “revisionist integration” into the Security Council
consists of two components:
o Maximising support in the UN General Assembly and
o Minimising resistance in the UN Security Council
 India hopes that its continued leadership of various Global South forums such
as G 77 and NAM, would garner much needed numbers in its support
o This is reflected in India’s strong defence of the principle of
sovereignty and the constant voluble criticism of the “Responsibility
to Protect.”
 On the other hand, India’s growing strategic partnerships with the P5,
including the historic nuclear deal with the US in 2005, reiteration of historic
ties with Russia, and most importantly, seeking a rapprochement with China, in
Indian eyes, paint a favorable picture for Indian hopes in the Security Council
by the existing permanent members
 India has also joined the L-69, the 42-member grouping of developing
countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America, to further its prospects
o India also, in late 2016, joined as a member the newly founded group
of Friends on UN Security Council Reform, created to accelerate the
negotiating process of Council reforms

 Roadblocks for India

o China factor
 China is one of the five permanent members of the UNSC and has
been using its veto power to block India’s efforts to become a
permanent member of the body
 The opposition by China, could be further complimented by
India’s assertion with China on Border issues and India’s
opposition to China’s Belt & Road Initiative
 o India’s firmness to not mend
 Critics argue that India has still not signed the  Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and also refused to sign
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996
 This aspect doesn’t sit well with other Permanent members of
UNSC
o Lack of resources for Multi-lateral Diplomacy
 Though India is on firm path of Economic growth, it has been
performing poorly in socio-economic indicators like the Human
Development Index, which might become a consideration factor
 Further, India still heavily relies on weaponry imports from US
and Russia for its military requirements; which questions its
abilities to operate beyond the Indo-pacific region
o Veto power contention
 Reforms to improve effectiveness and responsiveness of UN to
international security challenges are meaningless without the
reform of the UNSC veto power with P5, which enables any one
of them to prevent the adoption of any “substantive” draft council
resolution, regardless of its level of international support.

 Way forward
o India should begin playing an active role, rather than pursuing a policy
of silence on most of the issues in international security which UNSC
permanent members are often concerned with, from nuclear proliferation
in Iran and North Korea, to human rights violations in Syria
o India could also think of aligning its foreign policy on a more coherent
note, to better impact its presence in the Geopolitics of the world
o On the whole, a permanent membership to India in UNSC will ensure
representation of the developing and underdeveloped world
 Further, India can also significantly contribute to the misuse of
veto power and represent the interest of not only India but also
the underdeveloped countries and make United Nations a more
democratic global governing institute
 United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

About UNSC elections 

 Each year the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of 10 in

total) for a two-year term.
 The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis as follows:
o Five for African and Asian States.
o One for the Eastern European States.
o Two for the Latin American and Caribbean States;
o Two for Western European and other States
 To be elected to the Council, candidate countries need a two-thirds majority of ballots of
the Member States that are present and voting in the Assembly.
 The UNSC elections were traditionally held in the General Assembly hall with each of
the 193 member states casting its vote in a secret ballot. 

United Nations Security Council

 It is one of the UN’s six main organs and is aimed at maintaining international peace
and security.
 It held its first session on 17th January 1946 in Westminster, London.
 Headquarters: New York City.
 Membership:The Council is composed of 15 Members:
o Permanent members with veto power : 
 China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
o Ten non-permanent members :
Albania ,Brazil,Gabon,Ghana ,India,Ireland ,Kenya ,Mexico ,Norway,Uni
ted Arab Emirates
 More than 50 United Nations Member States have never been
Members of the Security Council.

 Functions and Powers:

o To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles
and purposes of the United Nations;
o To investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international
friction;
o To recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
o To formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
o To determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to
recommend what action should be taken;
o To call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not
involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;
o To take military action against an aggressor;
o Criticisms of UNSC

o It has been criticised for losing relevance, credibility and narrow leadership.

o Due to the differences among the P-5 and other countries, the UN is losing coherence
and focusing on issues of priority to all member states.
 o The council’s lack of multilateralism has also been criticised in the wake of
the Syrian war crisis and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
o No veto rights leave the non-permanent members toothless as they cannot assert
their will on any matter of international concern and can merely persuade or dissuade
other member states.
o India has also constantly pointed to the lack of movement on reforms in the UNSC.

 Need for UN Reforms:

o Equitable World Order: There is a need for a more equitable world in order
to uphold the principles of democracy at the global level.
o Inclusivity: Developing countries like the African countries, need to be made
stakeholders in the multilateral institutions and involved in the decision-
making process.
o Mitigation of New Threats: With rising protectionism, increased incidents of
terrorism and the threat of climate change, the multilateral system must
become more resilient and responsive.

 Membership of UNSC: Since its inception, the UNSC has been enlarged only once.

  Even after that, P-5 has remained fixed, which is problematic as the
membership of the UN has grown almost four times since its formation.

 Veto Power: It has been the exclusive domain of P-5 members, which has been
questioned by a lot of members.

o  Many countries have put question marks on the existence of veto, which is contrary
to democratic principles.

 Methods of Working: For example, before a document is adopted, each document

must be translated into six languages, which mostly leads to discussions on the
accuracy of these languages. This process has many times delayed the adoption of
texts in the UN.

Way Forward

 There is a need to maintain a rules-based, multilateral system to face today's many

ongoing crises.
 There is a need to generate more focused attention and serve as a call for action in
situations where global responses have been insufficient, and poorly coordinated.
 India has continuously supported the Least Developing Countries (LDCs) of Africa
and Small Island nations in their developmental efforts, which has led to the
development of India’s image as a benevolent and friendly country. This could be
used as leverage for India’s demand for a reformed UNSC.
 India has been the most elected member of the UNSC outside the P5. This position
can be leveraged to show India’s eagerness and maturity to be recognised as a
responsible global power.
 India needs to build upon its strengths through a diplomatic outreach to the major
nations with whom it has friendly relations.
 To recommend the admission of new Members;
India and UNSC

 India began  its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) on January 1 2021 .
 It is for the eighth time that India has assumed this position.
o Prior to this, India was a non-permanent member for 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73,
1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.

 India took over the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on
August 1 2021 
o Presidency entails presiding over council meetings, coordinating actions,
deciding the content of UNSC debates and more.

Challenges for India at UNSC

 China challenge: India has entered the UNSC at a time when China is asserting itself at
the global stage much more vigorously than ever.
o  It heads at least six UN organisations — and has challenged the global rules.
o China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the India-China
border, has been visible  and India will have to think on its feet to counter China.
o China has aggressively tried to raise the issue of Kashmir at the UNSC.

 Unstable West Asia and US-Russia relations: With relations between the US and
Russia are deteriorating and India has the challenge to balance both.
o Even India has to opt balanced approach in the case of Israel and Palestinian and
West Asia approach.