Objections of naysayers of reform remain frozen in time, India says at United Nations
United Nations, November 17
The UN Security Council is unable to act effectively in addressing increasingly complex issues of international peace and security as it lacks inclusive representation, India has said, asserting that while the global geo-political landscape has transformed, the objections of the naysayers of reform “remain frozen in time”.
Deputy Permanent Representative of India to United Nations Ambassador R Ravindra made the comments while addressing the General Assembly session on ‘Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council’.
“We heard our leaders at the General Debate of the UNGA earlier this year highlight the urgency and importance of reforming global governance structures in order to make them fit for purpose for the needs of the 21st century,” he said on Monday.
Ravindra said that in the over four decades that have gone by since the inscription of this item on the agenda of the General Assembly, “even as the geo-political landscape around us has transformed, the objections of the naysayers of reform remain frozen in time”.
He cautioned that inaction on part of the UN membership is not without cost.
With the Security Council being called upon to address increasingly complex issues of international peace and security, the powerful UN organ “finds itself unable to act effectively, for it is lacking inclusivity of those who should be represented there, and, therefore. short of legitimacy and credibility.”
India, currently serving a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Council, has been at forefront of efforts to push for urgent reform and expansion of the Security Council saying that the most powerful UN organ in its current form does not reflect the contemporary realities of the 21st century. PTI
