RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-3915
ANSWERED ON- 06/04/2023
INDIA’S EFFORTS FOR UNSC PERMANENT SEAT
3915. DR. SASMIT PATRA
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) the steps being undertaken by India for gaining the permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC); and
(b) the manner in which Indian Parliament and Parliamentarians can help in this regard?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN)
(a) Government of India has been according the highest priority to obtain a permanent membership for India in an expanded United Nations Security Council. Towards this objective, India is actively engaged in the ongoing Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on United Nations Security Council reforms at the United Nations and has been working with other reform-oriented countries through its membership of the G-4 (India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan) and the L.69 Group (cross-regional grouping of developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America).
As a measure of its increasing stature and acceptability of its role in the United Nations Security Council, India was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 8th time for the term 2021-22, with an overwhelming majority (184 of 193 votes) during the elections held in June 2020 in New York. A number of countries have bilaterally expressed official affirmations of support for India’s candidature for a permanent seat in an expanded United Nations Security Council.
United Nations Security Council reforms and expansion of its membership, with India as a permanent member, continues to be one of Government of India’s key priorities in all its bilateral and multilateral engagements including at the highest levels.
(b) The process of reforming the United Nations Security Council would require amendments in the United Nations Charter. As per Article 108 of the UN Charter:
"Amendments to the present Charter shall come into force for all Members of the United Nations when they have been adopted by a vote of two thirds of the members of the General Assembly and ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by two thirds of the Members of the United Nations, including all the permanent members of the Security Council”.
Whenever the UN Security Council Reforms are implemented, they would require ratification by Parliaments of two thirds of UN’s membership (as and where applicable). Parliamentarians will, therefore, have an important role to play on the subject of UN Security Council reforms.
Increasingly, multilateral platforms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) have been used to underscore the need for comprehensive reforms of the UN Security Council. India’s engagement with such forums will play an important role in building a strong case for India’s permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council.
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