The United Nations Security Council remains frozen in time and is not serving the purpose for which it was created and many nations want it expanded, Ruchira Kamboj, former permanent representative of India to the UN, said on Monday.
The world of 1945 (when the UNSC was formed) is not the same as the world of 2025, Kamboj reiterated while asserting that the Global South, with 85 per cent of the world’s population, being kept out of the decision-making processes in the UN system is “a very, very real challenge of multilateralism today”. She was speaking on the topic ‘Multilateralism in the 21st Century: Adapting to Emerging Challenges’ at Rashtriya Raksha University here. “Do you think the composition of the UNSC is inclusive? Clearly not. Where is the Global South? 85 percent of the world’s population, and the Global South does not find a place in UNSC.
The UN was formed in 1945 with 51 countries. Today there are 193 countries, a four-fold increase, but the UNSC remains frozen in time, is not contemporary, is not serving the purpose for which it was created,” Kamboj said. India and other members of the G4 as well as L69 group of developing countries and the African Union believe the UNSC should be expanded to include new permanent and non-permanent members, she said.
“The working methods of the council should be more transparent, more democratic. None of that is happening. It is very important to bring the Global South on the table. We absolutely need greater diversity of voices on the table if decision-making is to be more legitimate, more representative, and frankly, more effective,” she emphasised.
The discussion in this direction has been driven by geopolitical rivalries, with the issue remaining very sensitive as any such change would upset the balance of power that was “very cleverly and clearly established” in 1945 by mostly Western countries, she said. “And if there is an expansion, that will upset that very careful balance of power.
It is an exclusive club. Five countries override the will of 188 countries. Why on earth would you want to dilute that?” she said. However, she stressed on the need to remain optimistic as a majority of the nations in the UN do feel reform is the need of the hour, Kamboj added. She said multilateralism, the idea that countries work together for global cooperation, remains a cornerstone of global stability but faces pressure today, with many saying it is dying or in the ICU and some believing it is dead. Without doubt, it is under strain because of rising rivalries, potential trade wars, climate crises, and a tilt towards regionalism, she said.
“Institutions like the World Trade Organisation and International Monetary Fund did deliver to some extent despite the challenges to multilateralism in the past such as the Cold War, with billions lifted from poverty, global trade expanded, and major wars avoided. But the world has changed since 1945, and all will agree that the world of 1945 is not the world of 2025,” she said. “Power has shifted. We are living in a multipolar world today, and multipolarity is solidifying.
Regional blocks have become a force in themselves. They challenge old hierarchies, with technology such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cyber warfare, and satellite networks like Starlink reshaping the game,” the former diplomat said. With reciprocal tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump, the world is in the middle of a potential trade war, she said. Amid rival powers, disruptive technology, urgent crises, and fading faith in collective action, managing great power rivalry is a challenge to multilateralism, she said.
The UN’s Permanent Five enjoy untrammelled power of veto, while members of the United Nations General Assembly each have one vote, but those resolutions have no legal binding power, she pointed out. “So this geopolitical rivalry, this great power rivalry, this division is not just an abstract point, this is very real. Because there is no unity. Therefore, the UN has been rendered that much more ineffective. More and more countries are turning to regional solutions, with at least 20 active regional groups/alliances/coalitions formed for nimble, swift, targeted problem solving, tailored and customised to local challenges,” Kamboj said. The trend towards regionalism is real and is a positive trend as business has to be done, and if it happens through smaller formations, “then that is surely good”, she asserted.
However, these smaller formations lack the sweep, scale and legitimacy of the UN, which has 193 members and has sweeping mandate on space to security to development, human rights and even digital governance.