UNSC, India’s run for permanent membership in UNSC

Introduction

The UN Security Council is the premier global body for maintaining International peace and security
The Security Council, the United Nations’ principal crisis-management body, is empowered to impose binding obligations on the 193 UN member states to maintain peace
The Security Council, the United Nations’ principal crisis-management body, is empowered to impose binding obligations on the member states to maintain peace
The council’s five permanent and ten elected members meet regularly to assess threats to international security, including civil wars, natural disasters, arms proliferation, and terrorism
Structurally, the council remains largely unchanged since its founding in 1946, stirring debate among members about the need for reforms
- Composition of UN Security Council
  - The UN Security Council is composed of 15 members, including five permanent member states – China, France, Russian Federation, the United States, and the United Kingdom – and 10 non-permanent member states, which are elected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
  - Ten non-permanent members are elected to the UNSC every year for a two-year term
  - The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed among the regions of the world: five seats for African and Asian countries (three are for Africa and two for Asia), one for Eastern European countries, two for Latin American and Caribbean countries, and the remaining two for Western European and other countries.
    - The Africa and Asia Pacific group takes turns every two years to put up an Arab candidate
- How does presidency of UNSC rotate?
  - Each non-permanent member gets the opportunity to operate as president of the UN Security Council during the two years it is part of the grouping.
  - The presidency of UNSC changes hands every month between its members in the English alphabetical order of the member states’ names
- Powers of the UNSC President
  - According to the UNSC’s official website, the presidency derives responsibility from the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the United Nations Security Council as well as UNSC’s practice.
  - The holder of the presidency is considered to be the ‘face’ and spokesperson of the UNSC.
  - Responsibilities of the UNSC president include:
    - Calling meetings of the UN Security Council
    - Appealing to parties in a conflict to “exercise restraint”
    - Reading statements of the UN Security Council to the press
    - Approving provisional agenda (proposed by the secretary-general)
    - Presiding at UNSC meetings and deciding questions relating to policy and overseeing any crisis
- Veto power of UNSC member states
  - The UN defines ‘veto’ as a “special voting power“, which provides that “if any one of the five permanent members cast a negative vote in (UNSC), the resolution or decision would not be approved”.
  - However, the “veto power” is restricted to P5 member states of the UN Security Council. Non-permanent members of the UNSC do not enjoy this privilege.
  - Article 27 of the UN Charter says each member of the UNSC shall have one vote and that decisions on “procedural matters” shall require no more than the affirmative vote of nine out of the 15 members.
  - It is important to note that decisions on any other matter need not only an affirmative vote of nine members but also the concurring votes of the permanent members.

India’s run for permanent membership in UNSC

- Why the reforms at UNSC are unavoidable now?
  - To meet the evolved Geopolitics
    - UNSC was composed by victors of the Second World War in 1945 to suit their interests and the UN Charter was designed accordingly, giving to themselves the permanent membership and veto power in the council.
    - However, the geopolitical, strategic, economic realities have changed considerably since then, but the UNSC has not reformed itself to these global realities
  - Inadequate representation
    - With global economic and population fulcrum shifting to Indo-Pacific, inadequate Asian representation and no African and Latin American representation are pushing UN to irrelevance, unless it reforms itself
  - Powerplay of the P5
    - Currently, the governing capacity of the International security relations rests with the elite class of countries
    - The veto powers enjoyed by the permanent members of UNSC doesn’t seem to suit the current global security needs
    - Further, the UNSC has not been successful in understanding the International changes and dynamics in the area of human security and peace

In this perspective, in a truly ‘’historic’’ move to reforming global governance in the arena of international peace and security, the 193 member-United Nations adopted a consensus resolution in its 69th General Assembly on September 14, 2015 to move from Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) to a Text-Based Negotiations (TBN) process for reforming the United Nations Security Council

Why India should be granted permanent membership?
- Emerging Global Power
  - India, after 75 years of independence, has emerged as one of the major powers in global politics; which represents one-sixth of the global population
  - It is also the world’s fifth largest economy and third largest in terms of purchasing power parity as of 2020.
  - Also, India has taken the lead in calling for New International Economic Order (NIEO) by reforming the international organizations
  - Further, at times of challenges, India has been at the forefront in raising its voice for cooperation and shared responsibilities.
- Long Historical ties with UN
  - India shares a long historic relationship with the UN and its contemporary role in the global arena
  - India’s contribution to the international community is undeniable.
  - India also adheres to the Principle of Panchsheel whose relevance is timeless
  - The principle of Panchsheel is based on Mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and peaceful coexistence. These principles can be highly significant to UN Charter to work towards peace and security in cooperation
- India’s stand on disarmament and non-violence
  - India has stood to uphold non-discriminatory and transparent working in international organisations
  - India has time and again reiterated its stand as a responsible nuclear weapons state and its deterrence to no first use and non-use against non-nuclear states
  - India has often criticised the discriminatory and undemocratic nature of the NPT (Non-proliferation treaty)
- Active International participation
  - India has been an active participant in international events and treaties like UN peacekeeping mission, development goals, sustainable development, climate change and anti-terrorism
  - India has provided more than 200,000 officers to UN peacekeeping missions
  - India is also contributed to the UN in fighting against global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, energy security, refugee crisis, pandemics and restructuring the existing international economic world order
- As an added representative from Asian region
  - In the recent times, India’s shift from non-alignment to multi-alignment shows that India can maintain good parallel relations with all major and minor powers in the international system
  - India’s membership can be demanded based on its economic growth, size, democratization, political stability, the rise of soft-power, nuclear power, military power and its emergence as a rising power in the South Asian region

Tracing India’s run to permanent membership at UNSC
- In 1992, India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan (referred as G4) had put up their claims and logic for demanding inclusion as permanent members
  - Besides G4 countries South Africa (largest economy in African Continent) is also a claimant, as the Continent remains unrepresented on high table of permanent members
- In retaliation, the pitch for reforms of G4 was lowered by their regional rivals like Italy, Pakistan, Mexico and Egypt, which started formulation of another interest group, known to be “Uniting for Consensus” opposing G4 becoming permanent members with a veto power.
- The efforts for expansion of UNSC and reforms were also made in the form of the General Assembly Task Force on Security Council Reform and 2005 Kofi Annan’s Plan to expand to 24 member UNSC, with various combinations for equitable representation, but none of the initiatives have worked so far
- The USA has time and again supported India’s bid for permanent membership in 2010 and again in 2017
- Recently in 2020, France also supported India’s candidacy for permanent seat in the UNSC

What would be India’s aspirations being a permanent member at UNSC?
- Being a “pen holder” as the permanent member of the Security Council, India would similarly assume the mantle of international peace and security decision-making
- The powerful body would provide it the much needed leverage to expand its global geo-political and geo-economic clout
  - It would serve as an equaliser to China and an emerging hegemon in Asia, and an ever increasing strategic and security concern in its immediate neighbourhood and beyond
- As India’s international profile and capabilities rise due to its ever expanding global and regional footprint in diverse areas such as politics, development, economics, culture and science and technology, India wishes to shift its international position from a rule taker (a constrained role) to a rule maker (a system shaping role)

- The Indian attempts at joining various regimes like the MTCR(Missile Technology Control Regime) and the ongoing, high-pitched campaign to join the NSG amply indicate that India is no more satisfied with being either the target or a mere follower of various international norms and rules, and now wants to shape and align them to suit Indian ideas and interests

Indian strategies for a permanent seat at UNSC

India has adopted a multi-layered strategy to assume the highly coveted permanent seat in the Security Council
The Indian strategy of “revisionist integration” into the Security Council consists of two components:
- Maximising support in the UN General Assembly and
- Minimising resistance in the UN Security Council
India hopes that its continued leadership of various Global South forums such as G 77 and NAM, would garner much needed numbers in its support
- This is reflected in India’s strong defence of the principle of sovereignty and the constant voluble criticism of the “Responsibility to Protect.”
On the other hand, India’s growing strategic partnerships with the P5, including the historic nuclear deal with the US in 2005, reiteration of historic ties with Russia, and most importantly, seeking a rapprochement with China, in Indian eyes, paint a favorable picture for Indian hopes in the Security Council by the existing permanent members
India has also joined the L-69, the 42-member grouping of developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America, to further its prospects
- India also, in late 2016, joined as a member the newly founded group of Friends on UN Security Council Reform, created to accelerate the negotiating process of Council reforms

Roadblocks for India
- China factor
  - China is one of the five permanent members of the UNSC and has been using its veto power to block India’s efforts to become a permanent member of the body
  - The opposition by China, could be further complimented by India’s assertion with China on Border issues and India’s opposition to China’s Belt & Road Initiative
- India’s firmness to not mend
  - Critics argue that India has still not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and also refused to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996
  - This aspect doesn’t sit well with other Permanent members of UNSC
- Lack of resources for Multi-lateral Diplomacy
  - Though India is on firm path of Economic growth, it has been performing poorly in socio-economic indicators like the Human Development Index, which might become a consideration factor
  - Further, India still heavily relies on weaponry imports from US and Russia for its military requirements; which questions its abilities to operate beyond the Indo-pacific region
- Veto power contention
  - Reforms to improve effectiveness and responsiveness of UN to international security challenges are meaningless without the reform of the UNSC veto power with P5, which enables any one of them to prevent the adoption of any “substantive” draft council resolution, regardless of its level of international support.

Way forward
- India should begin playing an active role, rather than pursuing a policy of silence on most of the issues in international security which UNSC permanent members are often concerned with, from nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, to human rights violations in Syria
- India could also think of aligning its foreign policy on a more coherent note, to better impact its presence in the Geopolitics of the world
- On the whole, a permanent membership to India in UNSC will ensure representation of the developing and underdeveloped world
  - Further, India can also significantly contribute to the misuse of veto power and represent the interest of not only India but also the underdeveloped countries and make United Nations a more democratic global governing institute