Lok Sabha Question No. 257 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-03
Subject: Membership in UNSC
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: T. R. Paarivendhar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-257

LOK SABHA

ANSWERED ON- 03/02/2023

## MEMBERSHIP IN UNSC

257. DR. T.R. PAARIVENDHAR

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-

(a) whether the Government is taking any steps to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has faced any impediments and challenges to become one of the member in the UN Security Council;

(c) if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the steps taken or being taken by the Government to overcome the challenges?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

(SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN)

(a to d) Government of India has been according highest priority to obtain a permanent membership for India in an expanded United Nations Security Council. Towards this end, Government has undertaken various initiatives aimed at building international support for India's case. The matter has been consistently taken up during bilateral and multilateral meetings, and in discussions with other countries at all levels, including at the highest levels.

External  Affairs Minister of India in his address at the High-Level debate during the High-Level Week  at the 77 th Session  of  United  Nations  General  Assembly  in September 2022 at New York,   highlighted  the  importance of United Nations  reforms,  stating:

'The reform of governance of multilateral financial institutions will continue to be one of our core priorities.   We   believe   that   multipolarity,   rebalancing, fair   globalization   and   reformed multilateralism cannot be kept in abeyance. The call  for  reformed  multilateralism -  with  reforms of the Security Council  at  its  core  -  enjoys  considerable  support  among  United  Nations members'.

On the side-lines of the High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022, India, along with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines [Chair of the L.69 group, a cross regional group of countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America] co-hosted the High-Level meeting of the L.69 group and other like-minded countries on "Reinvigorating Multilateralism and Achieving Comprehensive  Reform  of  the  United  Nations  Security  Council'. The meeting  called  for

urgent and comprehensive reform of the Security Council to reflect the contemporary global realities.

In addition, the Foreign Ministers of the G4 countries (India, Japan, Germany and Brazil), met on the margins of the opening of the 77 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 22 September 2022, and reiterated that expansion of the Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership is essential to make the body more representative, legitimate, and effective. The Ministers renewed their determination to work towards commencing text-based negotiations without further delay in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) process in the General Assembly.

At the  same High-Level Week, amongst the many countries that highlighted the need for United Nations Security Council reforms, Russia, Portugal, Bhutan, and Australia specifically mentioned India for a permanent seat in a reformed United Nations Security Council.

As part of India's second Presidency of the United Nations Security  Council  in  December 2022,  one  of  the  high-level  signature  events  that  was  organized  by  India  in  New  York  on December 14 was a high-level open debate in the United Nations Security Council on the theme, 'New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism' [NORMS], which was chaired by the External  Affairs  Minister  of  India. The purpose of the debate was to push for reforms in the current multilateral architecture with the United Nations at its center, to make it more representative and fit for purpose. The process of reforming the United Nations Security Council would require amendments in the United Nations Charter. As per Article 108 of the UN Charter:

'Amendments to the present Charter shall come into force for all Members of the United Nations when they have been adopted by a vote of two thirds of the members of the General Assembly and ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by two thirds of the Members of the United Nations, including all the permanent members of the Security Council'

There is however a group of countries which is opposed to any expansion in the permanent category of membership, and calls for consensus to be arrived at for any reforms in the Security Council. Given the diversity of opinion on the nature and scope of United Nations Security Council reforms and the varied positions of different regional groupings on this matter; the matter remains under active discussion.

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