United Nations: India has demanded expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to reflect contemporary reality, saying a delay would only make it lose more credibility and effectiveness.
"A reorganisation is definitely long overdue, hence inevitable," India's Permanent Representative at the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Friday noting the world order has been transformed beyond recognition since 1945 when the UNSC was set up.
"No one, however vociferous, can arrest the movement of history," he said during an informal plenary meeting on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council.
"There are a few who oppose real change, either by filibustering or attempting to put roadblocks," Puri said. "While they may succeed in slightly deferring the change that is inevitable, they do so at the cost of making the UNSC lose more credibility and effectiveness. Such actions also do a disservice to multi-lateralism."
"The UNSC can truly reflect contemporary world realities only with new permanent members, and thereby enhance the credibility, legitimacy and representativity of the UNSC," he added.
Puri proposed an expanded UNSC of 25 seats, with 11 permanent and 14 non-permanent members as "the most optimal option."
Of the six new permanent members, two each would be from Asia and Africa, while one each would be from Latin America and WEOG, he suggested. The four additional non-permanent seats would be distributed equally amongst Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
The Western European and Others Group (WEOG) is one of several unofficial regional groups in the United Nations that act as voting blocs and negotiation forums. Apart from Western European nations the 29-member group includes Canada, Australia, and New Zealand among others.
Such an expansion would provide the appropriate balance between the need for greater representation, including addressing the under-representation of developing countries, and the need to ensure that the UNSC does not become unwieldy, Puri said.
"India is acutely conscious of the need for the UNSC to be efficient and effective," he said.
Noting the council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, Puri said: "It is in our collective interest that this body is able to discharge its functions effectively, in real-time."
India's proposal would also permit the USNC to reflect contemporary realities, a key requirement for enhancing legitimacy and credibility, he said.
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