INDIA told a Security Council meeting chaired by China that countries opposing expansion in the UN body’s permanent membership are status quoists with a narrow focus and “non-progressive” approach, asserting that this “can no longer be accepted.” “The Global South cannot continue to be short-changed. India and major players in other parts of the world deserve their due representation in the structures of the United Nations. As regards Security Council, this translates to permanent category membership,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said. Addressing the open debate in the Security Council on ‘Practicing Multilateralism, Reforming and Improving Global Governance’ held under China’s Presidency of the 15-nation UN body, Harish further said that three fundamental principles are essential to the success of UNSC reforms. These he described to be increase in membership of both permanent and non-permanent categories; commencement of text based negotiations; and linking ambitious timelines with concrete outcomes.

 

“Those opposed to expansion of permanent category are status quoists with a narrow focus. Clearly, their approach is non-progressive in nature. This can no longer be accepted,” Harish said. The Indian envoy referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at the Summit for the Future in September last year when he has said that “reforms is the key to relevance”. “India has been consistent, categorical and a major voice with regard to underscoring the need for reforms,” Harish said adding that original structures and frameworks of the UN represent a different period in history. “Our world has transformed and the UN needs to change with the times. It has to be reflective of the current global order rather than 1945,” Harish said. India has been at the forefront of decades-long efforts calling for reform of the Security Council, including expansion in both its permanent and non-permanent categories, saying the 15-nation Council, founded in 1945, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geo-political realities. Delhi has underscored that it rightly deserves a permanent seat at the horse-shoe table. India last sat at the UN high-table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22.

 

A polarised Security Council has failed to deal with current peace and security challenges with Council members sharply divided on conflicts such as the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has also noted that the United Nations had 51 Member States when it was established nearly 80 years ago, and today it is made up of 193 nations. Harish noted that a theme that stood pronounced in the debate is the call for reformed multilateralism. “This is a clear testimony to the need for reviewing and redesigning the 80 year old architecture of this august forum in order to make it fit for purpose. At a time when the world is increasingly expressing concerns about the ability of the United Nations to deliver effectively on pressing global issues, reforms are not a choice anymore but an imperative,” he said. He further added that addressing the historical injustice to Africa has to be a central element of the reforms.

 

To this end, India has always been supportive of the Common African Position, he said. India urged those Member States whose “so-called support” to Africa has been limited to proforma statements to clearly articulate their position on expansion in the permanent category which is where Africa is not represented. Harish asserted that beyond the Security Council, the pre-eminent position of the United Nations General Assembly as the primary policy making and representative organ of the United Nations is to be respected both in letter and spirit. Emphasising India’s firm commitment to the cause of reforms, Harish said Delhi will work closely with its friends and partners and called on all Member States to also join the endeavour for reformed multilateralism. India has been victim of Pak perpetrated terror: Harish: INDIA has been a victim of terror acts perpetrated by Pakistan through groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and it is a “supreme irony” when the global epicentre of terrorism pats itself on the back claiming to fight against the scourge, Delhi’s envoy told a UN Security Council meeting chaired by China. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish delivered a strongly-worded retort after Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Ishaq Dar made remarks about Jammu and Kashmir during an open debate on ‘Practicing multilateralism, reforming and improving global governance’.

 

“Pakistan is a global epicentre of terrorism harbouring more than 20 UN-listed terrorist entities and providing State support to cross-border terrorism,” Harish said. “Hence it is a supreme irony when Pakistan pats itself on the back as being at the forefront of the fight against terrorism. India has been a victim of acts of terror perpetrated by this country through terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat Ul Mujahidin, among dozens of others,” he said. Several Pakistan-based terror entities and individuals are listed under the 1267 Al Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council and are subject to an assets freeze, arms embargo and travel ban. In the past, China, a fair-weather friend of Pakistan, has often put holds and blocks on proposals submitted by India and its partners like the US to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN. Harish asserted that there cannot be any justification for terrorism regardless of its form, type and motive.

 

“No political grievance can justify terrorism perpetrated against innocent civilians. This august body can make no distinction between good and bad terrorists,” he said adding that Dar should take note of this and not further waste the time of the Council. Underlining that Jammu and Kashmir have been, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India, Harish said it is Pakistan in fact that is in “illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir”. “Pakistan’s campaigns of misinformation and disinformation, of lies and falsehoods, do not change facts on the ground,” he said. Referring to the assembly elections held in Jammu and Kashmir in September-October last year, Harish said the people of Jammu and Kashmir took part in a successful election and voted in large numbers to choose their Government. “The choice of the people of Jammu & Kashmir was loud and clear. Democracy in Jammu and Kashmir is vibrant and strong, unlike in Pakistan,” he said.