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By Devinder Kumar
NEW DELHI (IDN) – With the beginning of the New Year, India joins the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member for the eighth time. Along with Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico, India will serve a two-year term: 2021-2022.
Of the 15 members of the UNSC, five occupy a permanent seat. They have the right to veto resolutions: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The five new non-permanent members will replace Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa.
India has been a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council a total of seven times in the past. There was a 19-year hiatus when India was not a member of the council after a period from 1991 to 1992.
In the words of Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, India’s approach will be guided by 5-S: samman, samvad, sahyog, shanti, samriddhi (respect, dialogue, cooperation, peace and prosperity).
India in the UN Security Council will be committed to multilateralism, the rule of law and a fair and equitable international system. His worldview is anchored in ethos: “the world is a family.”
Diplomatic sources said that, as a rule-abiding democracy and a positive contributor to the security of the global commons, India will work constructively with its partners to provide innovative and inclusive solutions to foster development.
India calls for greater participation of women and youth to shape a new paradigm.
A rapidly changing global security landscape, the persistence of traditional security challenges and the emergence of new and complicated challenges call for a coherent, pragmatic, agile and effective platform for collaboration to ensure sustainable peace, says a document entitled ‘Priorities of the Security Council of India ‘
That role must be assumed more effectively by the Security Council, in the post-COVID19 context, it adds.
The vital agenda of the Indian Security Council is the “effective response to international terrorism”. Diplomatic sources maintain that terrorism is an enduring and critical threat to international peace and security.
Terrorist groups have ties across borders, regions, and continents in recruiting, financing, and operations.
Therefore, India is committed to combating this threat in all its forms and manifestations. Subsequently, India will take concrete and results-oriented actions by the Council aimed at:
- address the abuse of information and communication technologies by terrorists
- disrupt its nexus with sponsors and transnational organized criminal entities
- stopping the flow of terrorist financing
- Strengthen the normative and operational frameworks for greater coordination with other multilateral forums.
Diplomatic sources also underline the need to reform multilateral systems because there is widespread concern about the insufficiency of existing multilateral institutions to produce results or face new challenges.
Furthermore, it is necessary to promote greater cooperation in multilateral institutions. Reformed multilateralism is ‘must have’ for the post-COVID19 era. A fundamental first step is the reform of the Security Council. It must reflect contemporary realities to be most effective.
Diplomatic sources said that India will have a unique opportunity to demonstrate its capacity as a world power and strengthen its claim for a permanent seat alongside Japan, Germany and Brazil.
The fight against terrorism, maritime security, scientific research, technological development with a human touch and the maintenance of international peace as main agendas are expected to pave the way for a permanent headquarters in the UNSC.
Also, some of the statistics reinforce India’s demand for a permanent seat.
India is the fourth largest troop contributor to the United Nations. A total of 6,700 Indian soldiers are currently deployed in UN peacekeeping and more than 200,000 Indians have served in various such missions since 1948.
Up to 160 Indians have lost their lives serving under the UN flag.
In 2007, India became the first country to deploy a contingent of women to a UN peacekeeping mission.
India will try to harness its strength to enhance peacekeeping efforts around the world.
In addition, India is the vaccine manufacturing center of the world.
Almost 60 percent of the vaccines distributed worldwide come from India, which is one in three vaccines.
The cost of production and clinical trials is the lowest in the world in India.
As the world’s pharmacy, India would seek to reform the global institution to better respond to health crises in the future.
Common perception suggests that non-permanent members are powerless as they do not have veto power. However, this is not entirely true, as these members have what is called a “collective veto”.
To pass any resolution in the Council, at least seven non-permanent members must agree to it.
Even if the permanent members have already said ‘yes’ to a resolution, it still needs the support of at least seven non-permanent members. This is what is called a collective veto.
In addition, together with the permanent members, the non-permanent members assume the monthly presidency of the UNSC.
As chair, you can decide the topics of debate and the issues that you think are important to be discussed at the head table.
Non-permanent members also chair various committees and working groups in the UNSC.
“Keeping all these aspects in perspective, Indis has a lot of room to lead from the front and strengthen its case for permanent membership,” according to diplomatic sources. [IDN-InDepthNews – 02 January 2021]
Photo: The United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York, also known as the Norwegian Chamber. CC BY-SA 2.0
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