In News By InSerbia Network Foundation
August 16, 2015
In what may be seen as huge blow to India’s ambition for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the US has joined hands with China and Russia to oppose negotiations for reforming the UN body.
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India and some other developing nations have worked hard for long to prepare a framework on UNSC reform. They had suggested that the UNSC include more countries as its permanent members and work in a transparent manner. However, the US, Russia and China strongly opposed the proposal – which can be described as an outcome of inter-governmental negotiations (IGN) – soon after President of UN General Assembly (UNGA) Sam Kutesa introduced it in the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the world body on August 1. The move, made by the three permanent UNSC members, was aimed at killing India’s effort.
The Barack Obama administration – which has been supporting India’s permanent UNSC membership for so many years – has performed a swift volte-face and agreed with Moscow and Beijing not to change the basic structure of the UNSC. The US also sent a letter to the UNGA, stating: “The IGN is the most appropriate forum for these discussions. It is critical that any reform proposal enjoy broad consensus among member states.”
New Delhi has expressed serious concern over the US move, saying it is unfortunate that Washington is not ready to allow other countries to become UNSC members. Even if they allow countries to get the permanent membership of the UNSC after considering their ‘ability and willingness’ to play an important role in securing global peace and security, Washington is reluctant to ‘alter or expand the veto power’. Although India has no immediate plan to snap ties with the US, Washington’s letter has disheartened Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, Modi had written a letter to all the (193) member countries of the UN, explaining the reason for the proposed UNSC reform.
Russia – considered as a good friend of India – had previously backed the IGN. It is surprising that Moscow, too, has now made a sudden U-turn. In a statement, Kremlin said: “The IGNs on the UNSC reform should proceed in a calm, transparent and inclusive atmosphere free from artificial deadlines. If a consensus on this issue is not possible to achieve, then in any case it will be politically necessary to secure the support by the overwhelming majority of the member-states – a substantially greater number than the legally required two thirds of votes at the UNGA.”
However, China’s stance on this particular issue did not surprise India, as Beijing has always opposed New Delhi’s move. The Chinese officials are of the opinion that they will never ‘populate’ the document. Beijing has also cleared its position, saying in a statement: “Member-states are still seriously divided on the UNSC reform. No general agreement has been reached on any solution so far. Member-states still need to engage in patient consultations to find a solution that accommodates each others interests and concerns. Any solution or reform model should enjoy general agreement among member-states.”
