Macron endorses India for UNSC permanent membership, calls for greater efficiency
- In Reports
- 06:23 PM, Sep 26, 2024
- Myind Staff
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his strong support for India's bid to become a permanent member of a reformed UN Security Council (UNSC). He also backed the candidacies of Brazil, Germany, Japan, and two African nations for permanent membership.
He said, “Let’s make the UN more efficient. We need to make it more representative and that’s why France is in favour of the Security Council being expanded. Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil should be permanent members, along with two countries that Africa will decide to represent them.” The Security Council, one of the six principal UN bodies, is in charge of upholding world peace and security. There are fifteen members in total: ten non-permanent members chosen for two-year terms and five permanent members with veto power (the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom).
The Council's main responsibilities include conflict investigations, the creation of peacekeeping missions, the application of sanctions, and, in extreme cases, the authorisation of military action. It is an important player in international diplomacy because of its critical role in resolving conflicts and crises around the world.
Since 1979, the Assembly has considered the issue of equitable representation. But as global conflict increased, so did the calls for reform. After member states decided that modernising the 15-member body was necessary to keep the UN relevant, the UN General Assembly wrapped up its discussion of Security Council reform in November 2022. The veto power of certain permanent members of the UNSC has come under scrutiny after resolutions to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine failed to pass the body.
The Iranian delegate had emphasised that the veto is not a right but rather an unfair privilege that certain member states have been granted in violation of the United Nations Charter. He also mentioned that Western countries made up the bulk of the Council's membership. A number of member states have supported the idea of increasing the number of permanent and non-permanent member categories for a long time.
Many countries have voiced support for India's admission into this influential group, including permanent UNSC members like the US. China, however, is against this kind of action. India has continued to push the UNSC reform process forward under successive administrations, among other things by actively participating in the ongoing Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on the Security Council reform. New Delhi has pushed for the UNSC to be expanded to include more countries as permanent members in order to reflect the geopolitical realities of today. The G4 is composed of Brazil, Germany, Japan, and other countries.
Macron's most recent effort to support India's bid coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent UN speeches in favour of reformed multilateral forums. Prime Minister Modi emphasized on Monday that UN agencies' continued relevance depends on how quickly they can undergo reform, alluding to India's application for a permanent seat on the Security Council. The long pending UNSC reform continues to be a big talking point.
Quad leaders demanded on Sunday that the UNSC be expanded to include more nations' representation and that it be urgently reformed to become more representative. Following their meeting in President Joe Biden's hometown, the Quad leaders demanded that representation from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa be added to the permanent membership.
“We will reform the UN Security Council, recognising the urgent need to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council,” read the joint statement.
Comments