India and UN Security Council seat
NK Pant
Apr. 8, 2005

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New Delhi’s unyielding intent to join the United Nations’ Security Council as a permanent member was evident during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Mauritius. While addressing the Indian Ocean island state’s national assembly he appreciated the support extended by Port Louis for India’s candidature to the coveted big boys’ club. But what mattered was his conviction of India’s determination and capacity to assume the onerous responsibilities of a permanent member of the expanded Council. The PM also asserted that that India’s membership would enhance the effectiveness, credibility and legitimacy of the UNSC.

Though there are still five odd months to go for the ritual ‘Come September’ grand jamboree of world leaders at the UN headquarters in New York, the flurry of activity seems to be already underway. The raison d''être for this is not difficult to fathom since the forthcoming annual session of the UN General Assembly is going to thrash out the long pending reforms package that most importantly includes proposed expansion of the Security Council. The event will turn out to be a momentous watershed in the 60-year history of the world body if it is able to push through the proposal of the candidature of India along with Brazil, Germany, Japan and possibly one of the major representative nations from the continent of Africa as new permanent members of the expanded UNSC with veto rights. Presently the US, Russia, China, UK and France are the five permanent members.

New Delhi’s patient perseverance seems to be paying dividends. The G4 countries – India, Brazil, Japan and Germany have teamed up to support each other’s bid for permanent seats. They plan to seek a vote in the assembly on a resolution calling for UNSC’s expansion. Many nations now fully subscribe to the fact that India, a country of 1.2 billion, not to be represented on the Security Council is something unusual. New Delhi hence has a solid reason to be optimistic in its decade long endeavour as presently there appears to increasing international support for its entry into the portals of the UN’s exclusive decision making club for maintaining world peace. However, India must reject the proposal being mooted in some quarters that if the country is at all permitted to enter the portals of the Council, it should be sans veto power.

The Security Council is given under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, a virtual monopoly over the use of force to defeat aggression. States, alone or collectively with their allies, are entitled to use force only in self defence as a temporary measure until Security Council starts to take effective measures. The UNSC’s forces are supposed to be provided by individual member states by agreements made under Article 43 of the Charter. Incidentally India has all these crucial post World War II years been a major source for the troops for peacekeeping roles in the trouble spots all around the world.

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