In a new concerted push for expansion of the UN Security Council, India and the other G4 nations of Japan, Germany and Brazil have proposed that the new permanent members of the council shall not exercise veto powers till the prickly issue is decided by a review held after a specific time period.
“The issue of veto is important, but we should not allow it to have a veto over the process of Council reform itself,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin while delivering a statement on behalf of the G4 at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on UNSC reforms.
“While the new permanent members would as a principle have have the same responsibilities and obligations as current permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia and China), they shall not exercise the veto until a decision on the matter has been taken during a review,” Akbaruddin said.
The four G4 nations aspiring to become permanent members in an expanded council have been coordinating their positions in a collective push to speed up the process to overhaul the council to reflect the new global realities.
Firm on expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent membership of the council, Akbaruddin made it clear that the G4 rejects “intermediate models” proposing expansion solely of the non-permanent category with members elected for a longer term.
The Indian envoy was responding to a proposal from his Italian counterpart Sebastiano Cardi, who earlier on Tuesday proposed creation of such a new category of elected members with terms longer than the two years at present.
listing the problems posed by sole expansion of non-permanent membership, Akbaruddin said this model would not address issues relating to the present imbalances between permanent and non-permanent members.
Such a proposal would mean “introduction of a new category and addition of members without making the council either accountable or effective”, he said, adding the proposal would also not empower Africa or other developing countries.
“Any proposal that does not address the issue of Africa’s non-representation in the permanent category does grave injustice to Africa’s aspirations for equality,” Akbaruddin said, adding: “In our view, any reform that does not address expansion of both categories will be incomplete and futile.”
“These intermediate models merely enhance the chances of more resourceful middle states to contest in both the “so-called longer term seats’ and the conventional non-permanent category, thereby further reducing the chances of small states to serve on the council,” he said.
India and the other G4 nations “are open to innovative ideas to rework the UN system”, Akbaruddin said while regretting that a few countries were bent on bringing old rejected models for reconsideration.
Even so, the G4 is, as a matter of respect, willing to consider those models collated and tabled along with its own proposals in a composite text, the Indian envoy said, adding: “It is time to get started. For our credibility to be sustained, it is time for honest engagement and exchange on the basis of a text.”