THE CONTEXT: More than three decades after the debate first started over fundamental reforms at the United Nations (UN), the issue appears to have resurfaced at the ongoing General Assembly session of the United Nations.
ABOUT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC)
- The UNSC is one of the six main organs of the United Nations established under the UN Charter in 1945, and it is headquartered in New York.
- The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, Westminster, London.
- The Council has 15 Members (Five permanent and ten non-permanent members). Each member has one vote, and all five permanent members have veto power. All members of the United Nations have to agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council.
- Five permanent members are the United States, Russia, France, China and the United Kingdom, and ten Permanent members are elected for a term of two years.
- The Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates and changes every month among the 15 members.
Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:
- to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;
- to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;
- to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
- to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
- to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;
- to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;
- to take military action against an aggressor;
- to recommend the admission of new Members;
- to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in “strategic areas”;
- to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.
ISSUES PERSISTING IN THE UNSC
- Inadequate representation: One of the prominent issues in UNSC is the issue of equity among members who do not feel adequately represented. When the UN was founded in 1945, the Council consisted of 11 members out of a total UN membership of 51 countries, which means around 22% of the member states were on the Security Council. Today, there are 193 member-states of the UN, and only 15 members are on the Council representing fewer than 8%.
- Abuse of Veto power: As, only five members of the council enjoys the veto power is being misused by them and has become a tool to block the work of the UNSC.
- Outdated institution: There has been much change in global situation after the formation of UNSC, however, the institution remains the same. UN’s Secretary-General too has pointed that Security Council reflects the geopolitical realities of 1945 and not of existing world .
- Unequal balance of power: The composition of the Council also gives undue weightage to the fewer countries. For example, Europe accounts for barely 5% of the world’s population, but controls 33% of the seats in any given year . Even the countries with the highest financial contributors to the UN, such as Japan and Germany and countries with the highest representation of population, such as India, are being denied equal power.
- Unable to handle geopolitical challenges: The current mechanism of UNSC is unable to handle geopolitical challenges. One of the recent example in Ukraine conflict when a Permanent Member of the Security Council invaded a sovereign UN member-state, and the Council proved powerless to respond.
WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE FOR AMENDING THE UNSC MEMBERSHIP?
- The most important hurdle in the reform of the UNSC is the inflexibility of its structure, as the bar to amending the UN Charter has been set rather high.
- Changing the membership of the UNSC requires amending the UN Charter.
- Any amendment requires a two-thirds majority of the overall membership in the General Assembly and would further have to be ratified by two-thirds of the member states.
- Also, it should be approved by all the existing permanent members of the UNSC.
- The Charter was amended only once in the 1965 when the Security Council was expanded from 11 members to 15 by adding four more elected non-permanent members.
INDIA AND THE UNSC
- India has served eight times in the UNSC as a non-permanent member and is one of the largest individual contributors to the UN Peacekeeping Force. It is advocating for a permanent seat in the UN.
- Though, supported by a number of countries, it is facing a few hurdles apart from the structural issues in the UNSC:
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- 1) Opposition by China: China does not support India’s being a permanent member as it does not want to dilute its status as the only Asian permanent member.
- 2) Opposition by Pakistan: Pakistan see itself as India’s strategic rival on the subcontinent is a fixed opponent of India’s candidature.
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THE WAY FORWARD
- Alternative solution: Another proposal suggests creating a second category of “semi-permanent members” to accommodate states, for example, for 10-year electable terms.
- Address the changing situation: There is a need to bring structural reform in the institution to effectively address the problems of today’s world.
- Proper functioning of General Assembly: Proper functioning of the General Assembly is as much important as the permanent members of the UNSC in ensuring reform of the United Nations system.
- Enlargement of the council: One proposed change is to admit more permanent and non-permanent members for equitable representation of all the regions. The candidates usually mentioned are Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan and members of African continent.
- Power balance: There is a need for power balance within the UNSC with the democratization of the UNSC to increase its legitimacy in governing international peace, security and order.
THE CONCLUSION
There is a long persistent demand of reform of the United Nations Security Council and the time is ripe for the reforms as it is the only global system that brings all countries together on a common platform.
PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS:
Q.1 Discuss the impediments India is facing in its pursuit of a permanent seat in UN Security Council. (2015)
Q.2 What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s national self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (2019)
MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Q.1 As India aims to lead the Global South, it needs to revitalise its engagement with its traditional partners in the “Global South” to ensure its inclusion in the UNSC as a permanent member. Discuss.
Q.2 The argument for including new members is that the UNSC has to acknowledge the contemporary geopolitical realities to promote global peace and security. Comment.
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