TOPIC : INDIA’S BET FOR UNSC PERMANENT SEAT

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THE CONTEXT: Recently, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited to the United States and the reform of the United Nations has been a central theme. He met with his counterparts from Germany, Brazil and Japan under The Group of Four (G4) banner following the BRICS meeting. The group is primarily focused on UN Security Council (UNSC) reform, and permanent membership of the body for G4 members, among others. The G4 also reiterated their commitment to pushing forward reform and expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of progress in this regard.

PERMANENT MEMBERS OF UNSC

WHAT IS UNSC?

• One of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
• 15 members, consisting of 5 veto-wielding permanent members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States) and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms.
• This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter.

THE PERMANENT MEMBERS

• The current permanent were made permanent members in the charter when the United Nations was founded.
• These countries were the victors in World War II and China was their ally.

WHY IS THERE A NEED OF REFORMS IN THE PRESENT SITUATION?

LONG GAP SINCE THE LAST REFORM

• It was expanded only once in 1963 to add 4 non-permanent members.
• Since then, the membership of the United Nations has increased from 113 to 193 without any change in the composition of the UNSC.

UNBALANCED SITUATION

• No permanent member from Africa, despite around 75% of work of the UNSC focused on Africa.
• Unable to respond effectively to the emerging international conflicts and other humanitarian crises.

EXCLUSIVE NUCLEAR CLUB

• There has been criticism that all the members are nuclear powers.
• Only addresses the permanent members’ strategic interests and political motives; for example, protecting the oil-rich Kuwaitis in 1991 but poorly protecting resource-poor Rwandans in 1994.
• The number of permanent members should be expanded to include non-nuclear powers.

USE OF VETO POWER

• Since 1982, the US has vetoed 32 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members.
• The practice of the permanent members meeting privately and then presenting their resolutions to the full council as a fait accompli has also drawn fire.
• Two blocks created within the five members try to obstruct resolutions of each other.

ITS EFFECTIVENESS AND RELEVANCE

• In most high-profile cases, there are essentially no actions taken for violating a Security Council resolution.
• During the Darfur crisis, Janjaweed militias, allowed by elements of the Sudanese government, committed violence against an indigenous population, killing thousands of civilians.

IRONIC CONDITION

• The main purpose of UN is to maintain peace and stability in the world.
• Five permanent members of the UN Security Council are top five largest arms-dealing countries in the world.

THE REFORMS IN UNSC

WHAT SHOULD BE THE APPROACH?

• Must reflect contemporary global realities.
• For this purpose, the reform of the UN, including the expansion of the UNSC in both permanent and non-permanent categories, is essential.

THE STAND OF PERMANENT MEMBERS

The USA:

• It is in support of Security Council reform, as long as its veto power is not taken away.

Russia and China:

• The time had not come for any serious negotiations on the subject.

 France:

• It supported the addition of five new permanent members, including India, without any objection to veto being extended to them.

THE UK:

• Supported the G-4 without the power of veto.

THE MODEL OF KOFI ANNAN IN THIS REGARD

In 2005, the Former UN secretary general presented two models for a total of 24 seats in the council.

Model A: Six new permanent seats, with no veto being created, and three new two-year term non-permanent seats, divided among the major regional areas.

Model B: No new permanent seats, but create a new category of eight four-year renewable-term seats and one new two-year non-permanent and non-renewable seat, divided among the major regional areas.

G-4 AND THEIR DEMAND

MEMBERS

• The candidates usually mentioned are Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan.

WHY DO THEY DESERVE IT?

• All are in top ten in terms of GDP (nominal and PPP both).
• Germany is the largest economy in Europe and the highest UN budget contributor from Europe.
• Japan is the third largest economy in the world and, after the US second largest budget contributor to the UN.
• Brazil is the largest country in Latin America in terms of population, GDP and land area.
• India has the world’s second-largest population and is the world’s largest liberal democracy. It is also the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity.

INDIA AND PERMANENT MEMBERSHIP

THE PROSPECTS

• India well deserves a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
• The l
• Largest democracy in the world, home to 1/6th of mankind, 3rd largest economy.
• One of the largest peace-keeping contributors to the UN and given its credentials in world peace and interests of the developing countries.

INDIA’S EFFORTS IN THIS REGARD

• Campaigns this cause at various meetings, summits conferences and forums to win support from world nations.
• Gets support from friend countries in bilateral talks and relations.
• Separately, India is spearheading a group of around 42 developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America– called the L.69 Group, which has demanded on the UNSC reform front.
• Received a lot of support from a majority of countries, mostly developing.
• In September, foreign ministers of G4 countries met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the UNSC.

HOW CAN INDIA BECOME A PERMANENT MEMBER?

• The Security Council reform can only occur if two-thirds of UN member states vote in favour, along with an affirmative vote from all the permanent members.
• Effectively, even if India secures the support of two-thirds of UN members, it would still need the five permanent members not to use the veto.

ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

VETO POWER AND ITS IMPORTANCE

• The veto right, or the UN Charter’s requirement for the SC Permanent Members’ unanimity, remains the cornerstone of the UN system, which was created to guard peace and security after the Second World War.
• This is not a privilege but a reflection of the high responsibility of the P5 for maintaining peace and security, which reflects both the historical contribution that the Permanent Members made to establish the UN and their continued practical role in the world.
• At the same time, it reflects the wisdom of the founders of the UN, who foresaw a multi-centric world order, which is a reality now.
• The veto remains an important factor that keeps the UNSC members together and motivates them to seek balanced decisions.

SHOULD INDIA ACCEPT THE PERMANENT MEMBERSHIP WITHOUT A VETO?

NO

• Without veto, there will be no credibility for new members.
• They cannot oppose the decision of the UNSC, which affect their interest.
• There will be no change in the present situation because old members can veto any proposal of new members.
• Without the veto, new members will be as like non-permanent members and India served seven times as a non-permanent member, which was ineffective to address India’s and associated concerns.

YES

• Should not allow it to have a veto over the process of council reform.
• Veto should not be an issue, at least for the present.
• After finding permanent membership, India can seek further reforms strongly.
• At least, India will present and vote in every matter, which will be helpful to India.
• Two members favour giving veto, which is a positive signal and can be used in future.
• It will help create an effective image in world politics.

ANALYSIS OF THE ANNAN MODEL

Model A

• Europe will get another permanent seat. It will be hotly contested between Germany, Italy and Spain. Europe will also get 2 non-renewable 2 year seats. These will pass among the European Members of the UN.
• Nigeria and South Africa and hotly tipped for them but there could be other challengers. Africa will get 2 new permanent seats. Africa will also get 4 non-renewable 2 year seats.
• Asian-Pacific Region will also get 2 new permanent seats and there will be plenty of competition between Australia, Japan, India, Pakistan and others for them. The Asian-Pacific region will get 4 non-renewable 2 year seats.
• The America’s will get 1 new permanent seat contested by Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Mexico and other countries. The America’s will also get 4 non-renewable 2 year seats.

Model B

• Europe will get 2 new renewable 4 year seats and 1 non-renewable 2 year seat.
• Africa will get 2 renewable 4 year seats and 4 non-renewable seats.
• The Asian-Pacific Region will get 2 renewable 4 seats year and 3 non-renewable 2 year seats.
• The America’s will get 2 renewable 4 year seats and 3 non-renewable 2 year seats.

Under each model, Africa, Americas, Asian-Pacific and Europe will each have 6 seats representing their views on the Security Council. Of course, no change is recommended in the number of veto-holding members.

For this model Germany, Japan, Brazil and India have pledged to vote for each other in getting the new permanent seats on the council.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• The P-5 is not at all enthusiastic about opening their club to others. But the present configuration of the Security Council should help in projecting the argument that the permanent membership needs to reflect the changed realities of the world.
• In order to enhance regional representation, there is consensus that the council must be enlarged to improve the current makeup, giving more weight to regions such as Africa, the Asia-Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean states, especially when most agenda issues centre on these regions.
• While an enlarged Council should address any democratic deficit and improve multilateralism, a modest increase has been preferred by P5 members to ensure it remains effective and does not descend into a talk shop unable to act quickly.India should pursue the lead offered by the US to end the deadlock over the Security Council’s expansion.

THE CONCLUSION: To play a significant role, India needs to have a permanent seat at the institution that was built to uphold global peace, security, and order. This has become too clear to all those who matter that the old order necessarily needs to go through the process of accommodation. The support from the five Nordic countries and France indicates that these propositions are getting more and more included in the world’s assessment of India.

QUESTION FOR MAINS EXAMINATION:

Q1.The world’s major countries seek permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC). Discuss the major hurdles in securing a permanent seat for India in the UNSC.

Q2.Discuss the Role and significance of the UNSC, is there a need to reform UNSC? why should India be given permanent membership? Discuss.

Q3. Reforms are necessary to make the UNSC more legitimate, effective, and representative in character and correct historical injustices in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Examine.