How Much Longer Will India Be Kept Out Of UN’s Decision-Making Body

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for a more prominent role in the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the global body’s highest decision-making forum. India has sent soldiers to UN peace-keeping missions and has lost the most number of soldiers. The ideals of the UN and India’s main principles are similar. The world is one family has echoed in UN halls many times.

India has always thought about the welfare of the world. Modi reminded the UN that 130 crore Indians still believed in its ideals, but said the global body needed to adapt and change to stay relevant in current times. Reform is needed at the UN and Modi is waiting for that reform to happen. The Security Council (UNSC) is the UN’s highest-decision making forum and the only one that can make legally-binding decisions like imposing sanctions.

The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the UN and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter. There are five permanent members, United States, United Kingdom, China, Russia, and France, each of whom has veto powers.

India, which has previously served seven terms as a non-permanent and elected member was re-elected for a two-year term along with Ireland, Mexico, and Norway.

Modi was deeply grateful for overwhelming support from the UN for the country’s membership of the UNSC. However, Modi has long sought a fixed role and revamp of the current system. India has been supported in that bid by four of the five permanent members, including the United States. There is however, a section in the UN that supports expansion only in the non-permanent category.

The grouping of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress on reform of the UNSC and said the time had come to move towards a result-oriented process to expand the UN. IBSA strongly called for expediting reform of the UNSC, saying any failure to do so may have serious implications for international peace and security.