Security Council reform is a central theme of India during U.N. high level week

The group is seeking an expansion of permanent and non-permanent membership to the UNSC

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar attends a high-level meeting of the United Nations Security Council. | File Photo | Photo Credit: Reuters

India continued to push strongly for a reformed U.N.-led multilateral system during the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) 77th session opening here in New York. On Friday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participated in a meeting, titled ‘Reinvigorating Multilateralism and Achieving Comprehensive Reform of the U.N. Security Council’, with members of the U.N. reform-oriented ‘L.69’ group of developing countries, which resulted in a ‘Call to Action’ joint statement on reform.

​“We reaffirm that adapting the United Nations to the contemporary world realities necessarily requires urgent and comprehensive reform of the Security Council, the principal organ for international peace and security,” the statement said. The countries said they recognised that the “lack of progress” in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform had “serious implications” not just for the relevance of such institutions but also for global peace and security.

The group is seeking an expansion of permanent and non-permanent membership to the UNSC, reform in the body’s working methods and better representation of developing country aspirations, including African countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Friday’s joint statement noted that these islands comprised 20% of the United Nations’ membership.

The group made a commitment to push for UNSC reform during the 77th UNGA session via a “re-energized” intergovernmental negotiation (IGN) process, which is the principal framework through which UNSC reform is discussed and debated.

“We have full faith in the principles of the United Nations, in its charter, and in our belief in reformed multilateralism as key to shared goals of the world,” Mr. Jaishankar said on Saturday morning at an India-hosted event, ‘India@75: Showcasing India-UN Partnership in Action’.

The L.69 statement was signed by the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Brazil, Bolivia, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Liberia, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Seychelles, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.