UNITED NATIONS: India told a Security Council meeting chaired by China that countries opposing expansion in the UN body’s permanent membership are status quoists with a “narrow focus” and “non-progressive approach”, asserting that this “can no longer be accepted.””The Global South cannot continue to be short-changed. India and major players in other parts of the world deserve their due representation in the structures of the United Nations. As regards Security Council, this translates to permanent category membership,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said.Addressing the open debate in the Security Council on ‘Practicing Multilateralism, Reforming and Improving Global Governance’ held under China’s Presidency of the 15-nation UN body, Harish further said that three fundamental principles are essential to the success of UNSC reforms.These he described to be increase in membership of both permanent and non-permanent categories; commencement of text based negotiations; and linking ambitious timelines with concrete outcomes.”Those opposed to expansion of permanent category are status quoists with a narrow focus. Clearly, their approach is non-progressive in nature. This can no longer be accepted,” Harish said.The Indian envoy referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at the Summit for the Future in September last year when he has said that “reforms is the key to relevance.””India has been consistent, categorical and a major voice with regard to underscoring the need for reforms,” Harish said adding that original structures and frameworks of the UN represent a different period in history.”Our world has transformed and the UN needs to change with the times. It has to be reflective of the current global order rather than 1945,” he said.India has been at the forefront of decades-long efforts calling for reform of the Security Council, including expansion in both its permanent and non-permanent categories, saying the 15-nation Council, founded in 1945, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geo-political realities.Delhi has underscored that it rightly deserves a permanent seat at the horse-shoe table. India last sat at the UN high-table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22.A polarised Security Council has failed to deal with current peace and security challenges with Council members sharply divided on conflicts such as the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has also noted that the United Nations had 51 Member States when it was established nearly 80 years ago, and today it is made up of 193 nations.
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