India (Commonwealth Union)_ France has affirmed its backing for India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan in their pursuit of permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), reiterating its steadfast commitment to the council’s reform. These four nations, which collectively fall under the G4, form a political cooperative alliance, mutually supporting each other’s endeavors for securing permanent seats on the UNSC. Nicolas de Rivière, France’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, emphasized the need for Security Council reform, asserting its necessity for enhanced authority and representativeness.
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Rivière proposed an enlarged council, potentially accommodating up to 25 members, encompassing both new permanent and non-permanent members. Additionally, he advocated for a more robust presence of African countries among the permanent members, signaling a bilateral alignment between Paris and New Delhi to prioritize the inclusion of African nations for equitable representation at multilateral high tables. He said, “We would also like to see a stronger presence of African countries, including among the permanent members”.
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India’s Permanent UN Representative, Ruchira Kamboj, highlighted Africa’s attainment of a permanent seat at the G20 during India’s presidency. She asserted that this achievement serves as a compelling catalyst for reforms within the UN Security Council. She emphasized the absence of the Global South’s voice at UNSC high table. A day before India’s virtual second edition of the Voice of Global South summit, the nation voiced shared concerns at the United Nations regarding the lack of representation for Global South countries on issues crucial to their interests. It said, “We have no voice at the high table”. Global South refers to countries that are generally known as developing or less developed, mostly situated in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, typically lacking equitable representation in major UN bodies.
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, expressed collective angst about the absence of a voice for the Global South at the high table of the UNSC while addressing matters related to the Security Council’s membership and representation. Kamboj criticized the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGNs), an informal mechanism initiated in 2008 to address UNSC reforms, highlighting its lack of transparency. The IGN sessions, occurring in the informal plenary of the UN General Assembly, are designed to address questions of equitable representation and increased membership in the Security Council.
Ambassador Asoke Mukerji, India’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, emphasized the need to formalize the IGN process, advocating for a clear deadline for negotiations and, in the absence of consensus, a recorded two-thirds majority vote in the UN General Assembly, as stipulated in the UN Charter. He said, “There are no records of previous meetings of the intergovernmental negotiations available with the UN. There are no deadlines set for the negotiations to conclude. Even the two co-chairs of the negotiations are appointed by the President of the UN General Assembly from the same side of the issue, i.e., the elected non-permanent members”.
With the discourse on UN Security Council reforms gaining momentum, discussions are intensifying in preparation for the UN Summit of the Future scheduled for September 22 and 23, 2024. This summit, deemed a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” by the United Nations, aims to rebuild trust between nations and formulate a new global consensus for the future.
