America not keen on supporting India’s case at UNSC

America is not helping as much as India would want it to, in securing a permanent seat at the UNSC.

 America not keen on supporting India’s case at UNSC

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• The story: While the Obama and Trump administrations supported the cause of a permanent seat for India on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the State Department under new US President Joe Biden does not seem too keen on it.
• Recent views: The US supports a "reformed Security Council" that is representative, effective, and relevant. But the US offers qualified support for building a consensus for enlargement of the UNSC – in terms of permanent and non-permanent members.

1. The US would not support an expansion of the veto, which is currently exercised by five permanent members (P-5): China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.
2. The US's Ambassador to the UN refrained from saying the US supported India and other members of the G4 (Japan, Germany and Brazil) for a permanent UNSC seat.
3. It cited the regional disagreements by the Uniting for Consensus (UFC) group – Pakistan, South Korea, Italy and Argentina – which opposes the G4 plan.

• Why UNSC needs reform: First, it is not democratic in functioning. Barring two regions (North America and Europe), other regions are not represented well (like Asia) or not represented at all (Africa, Latin America and the Small Island developing states). Second, the veto power is used by P-5 countries to serve the strategic interest of themselves and their allies. So the US cast a veto on Council resolutions 16 times, to support its ally Israel, concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Third, there are no regulatory mechanisms for global commons like the Internet, Space, High Seas (beyond one’s EEZ-exclusive economic zone). These are serious global issues impacting everyone. Fourth, there is no unanimity on how to deal with global issues like terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and public health (as seen in the current pandemic).
• Kofi Annan: Due to all these, the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had said that the Security Council must either reform or risk becoming increasingly irrelevant.
• Why India deserves a permanent seat: India is one of the founding members of the UN, and has historically played a key role. India has been elected for eight terms for a two-year non-permanent member seat. It has almost twice the number of peacekeepers deployed on the ground than by P5 countries. India being the largest democracy and the second-most populous country (soon to become most populous) in the world, deserves it. India is one of the largest economies and fastest-growing economies of the world.

1. India's acquired status of a Nuclear Weapons State (NWS) in May 1998 also makes India a natural claimant as a permanent member similar to the existing permanent members who are all Nuclear Weapon States. India has been inducted in various export control regimes like MTCR, Wassenaar arrangement, etc.
2. India’s international profile and capabilities are immense, due to its ever-expanding global footprint in diverse areas like politics, sustainable development, economics, and culture and science and technology.
3. India is the undisputed leader of the Third world countries, as reflected by its leadership role in the Non-Aligned Movement, the brainchild of Pandit Nehru.

• History: In the past, India was reportedly offered a place in the the UNSC by both the superpowers, the US and the then Soviet Union in 1950 and in 1955 respectively. India reportedly denied the offer due to Cold war politics in that era. India is currently (in 2021 and 2022) a non-permanent member of the UNSC and is president for the month of August.
• Those who oppose: Critics say that India has still not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and also refused to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996. China, which has veto power in the UNSC being one of its five permanent members, has been stonewalling India's efforts to become a permanent member. India's poor performance in many socio-economic indicators like the Human Development Index is also cited.
• Summary: It's time to rebalance world politics, and the best way is to offer India its permanent place of pride in the UNSC.

 

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