India’s quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been an enduring diplomatic challenge, marked by various impediments that have hindered its progress on the global stage. Despite being one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies, India faces formidable obstacles in its pursuit of a permanent seat at the UNSC. The most prominent barrier lies in the structure of the Security Council itself, which reflects a post-World War II geopolitical order that does not adequately represent the current global dynamics. The existing permanent members, known as the P5 (United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom), wield disproportionate influence, creating a power imbalance that resists expansion. Additionally, India’s historical disputes with neighboring countries, such as Pakistan and China, further complicate its bid, as geopolitical tensions can impede the consensus required for such a significant change in the UNSC’s composition. Moreover, India faces skepticism from some member states about its ability to contribute effectively to global peace and security, despite its extensive involvement in UN peacekeeping missions. These multifaceted challenges underscore the complexity of India’s path towards securing a permanent seat in the UNSC, demanding nuanced diplomatic strategies and international cooperation to overcome entrenched hurdles.
Tag: Important International institutions, agencies, and fora – their structure, mandate.
Decoding the Question:
- In the Introduction, you can start with the importance of UNSC and present India’s case for a permanent seat in UNSC.
- In Body, discuss:
- Need of Reforms in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Permanent Membership.
- India’s Candidature for Permanent Seat in UN Security Council.
- Impediments India is Facing in its Pursuit of a Permanent Seat in the UN Security Council like external and internal factors.
- In Conclusion, you can highlight the fact that India’s Foreign Policy has taken a paradigm shift over the past few years and suggest future actions by India.
Answer:
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has emerged as the quintessential arena and barometer for evaluating the promise and progress of accommodating new, rising powers in the international system. The case of India provides one of the best examples of a rising power coming to terms with its increased power, role, and expectations of itself and of other powers, great and small, in negotiating its place in the reformed Council as a permanent member.
Need for Reforms in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Permanent Membership:
- The Security Council is one of the UN’s six main organs composed after the Second World War in 1945. It aimed at maintaining international peace and security.
- The UNSC at present has 15 members and five of them– the US, the UK, Russia, China, and France are permanent members, who have veto rights. The ten elected or non-permanent members have a tenure of two years.
- With global economic and population fulcrum shifting to Indo-Pacific, inadequate Asian representation and no African and Latin American representation are pushing the UN to stagnation, unless it reforms itself.
- UNSC in its current form is not representative of the developing world and global needs with the primacy of policy being in the hands of P5 members.
- According to India, “no reform of the United Nations (UN) is complete without the composition of the Security Council changing to reflect contemporary realities of the twenty-first century. This requires expansion in the membership of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories.”
India’s Candidature for Permanent Seat in UN Security Council:
- The UN Security Council, with its exceptional role in the UN in preserving international peace and security, has always been of significance for India since its founding years. India’s Candidature for permanent seat in UNSC attests by the fact that India is one of the founding members of UN.
- India joined the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member in January 2021, beginning a tenure of two years. India had last assumed the role of a non-permanent member at the UNSC in 2011-12. Prior to that, it was a non-permanent member for 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85 and 1991-92.
- According to India, the country has not been adequately rewarded for its participation in UN peacekeeping and her growing Geopolitical stature in the World.
- India in many ways is a sui generis country. It is a country of a billion-plus, it’s a country which is a democracy, perhaps the only example in history of a billion-plus people working together in a democratic framework.
- India’s rising economic stature globally has added to Indian claims as well. India is now the fastest-growing major economy in the world, and Asia’s third largest.
- India’s newly acquired status as a Nuclear Weapons State (NWS) in May 1998 also makes it a natural claimant as a permanent member like the existing permanent members who are all NWS. India now stands recognized as a de facto NWS due to the nuclear deal signed by India and the United States in 2005 and the Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver in 2008 to nuclear transfers for India despite not being NPT signatory.
Impediments India is Facing in its Pursuit of a Permanent Seat in UNSC:
External Factors (China and P5 Veto factor):
- The stance of P5 members to expansion has been varying as per their national interest, as most P5 members agree to Indian inclusion, except China.
- The roadblock is that Articles 108 and 109 of the United Nations Charter grant the P5 veto over any amendments to the Charter, requiring them to approve of any modifications to the UNSC veto power that they themselves hold.
- They are a group of 12 countries that call themselves Uniting for Consensus (UfC) led by Italy and includes Pakistan backed by China. The group’s agenda is to prevent adding permanent members to the Council especially in India’s context.
Internal Factors: (India’s Soft Foreign Policy):
- The case for UNSC reform can be made if India becomes relevant and integral to international security and the UNSC is meaningless without it. And if India wants to be integral to the UNSC, it will need to make itself more relevant to UNSC business.
- The purpose of the UNSC is to make difficult and politically sensitive decisions on matters of international security. In this regard, India is alleged to be selective. For Instance,
- In 2020, amidst the pandemic, most UNSC meetings dealt with conflicts in various parts of Africa from Somalia to Sudan and from Mali to Guinea-Bissau. Here, India had the opportunity to highlight the Pandemic crisis but did not.
- India pursued a policy of silence for long on most of the other burning issues in international security that UNSC permanent members are often concerned with, from nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea to human rights violations in Syria.
It would be completely unjustified to say that India doesn’t take a Stand on Burning issues. India’s Foreign Policy has taken massive change over the past few years. From soft power diplomacy, India has shown a slight bent towards hard power diplomacy. be it a surgical strike on the POK, India’s aggressive attitude with China to protect her sovereignty, taking a stand for Palestine even though India and Israel share a cordial relationship, emerging as a leader for developing nations, and being vocal about Climate change and food security. As India’s former Permanent Representative at the United Nations said: “by any calculus, India qualifies for a UNSC permanent seat.”
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