UNSC needs expansion to reflect global realities: report

United Nations, June 16

Amid India's push for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, a high-level committee’s report on Tuesday called for expanding the council’s membership to meet the growing global security challenges.

The Commission on Global Security, Justice and Governance in a report authored by Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and veteran diplomats, including ex-Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran, has called for reforms in the UN, arguing that the current international institutions are not equipped to tackle today’s global challenges.

"World leaders must grapple with new ways to approach 21st century threats posed by climate change, conflict and cross-border economic shocks," said Albright, who co-chaired the commission with former Nigerian Foreign Minister and UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Dr Ibrahim A Gambari.

"A failure to adapt effectively risks prolonging and deepening these global crises," she said.

The 158-page report by the 14-member commission comes ahead of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations and September's gathering of world leaders to adopt new goals.

In the report, the commission proposes three specific ways to reform and strengthen the UN Security Council —increasing its strength; instituting a formal consultative mechanism for periodic dialogues with civil society, business and local authority representatives; and developing a culture of restraint in the use of the veto.

The report proposes creating a new voting mechanism that will give permanent members of the Security Council the option of casting a dissenting vote that does not rise formally to the level of veto and thus does not block passage of a resolution.

India, Japan, Germany and Brazil are among the countries actively campaigning for a permanent seat in the Security Council, which currently comprises Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.

The report, titled 'Confronting the Crisis of Global Governance', also calls for transforming the UN Peacebuilding Commission into a Peacebuilding Council. — PTI