India’s Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish Calls for UN Security Council Reforms
New York [US], September 20 – India’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, emphasized the need for reforms in the UN Security Council (UNSC). He stated that India, being an essential country in the international system, has a legitimate right to a permanent seat in the UNSC.
Ambassador Harish highlighted that a reformed Security Council needs expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories. He mentioned that India, along with other countries, seeks urgent, time-bound, and text-based negotiations to achieve this expansion.
During the high-level UN General Assembly (UNGA) session, Ambassador Harish pointed out India’s significant contributions to global peacekeeping missions. He stressed the importance of achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and ensuring that funds for these goals are accessible to all countries, especially in the global south.
He also discussed the need for international cooperation to counter terrorism and the importance of new technologies like AI and biotechnology. He emphasized the need for an equitable governance structure for these technologies to ensure accessibility for all countries.
India has long sought a permanent seat in the UNSC to better represent the interests of the developing world. The nation’s quest has gained momentum with support from the international community, including the United States.
The UNSC is composed of 15 member states, including five permanent members with veto power (China, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States) and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
In January, India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar noted the growing global support for India’s permanent membership in the UNSC, stating that sometimes things are not given generously, and one has to seize them.
Doubts Revealed
Ambassador -: An ambassador is a person who represents their country in another country or at an international organization like the United Nations (UN). They work to build good relationships and solve problems between countries.
UN Security Council -: The UN Security Council is a group of countries that make important decisions about keeping peace and security in the world. It has 15 members, but only 5 of them are permanent members with special powers.
Reforms -: Reforms are changes made to improve something. In this case, it means changing the way the UN Security Council works to make it fairer and more effective.
Permanent seat -: A permanent seat in the UN Security Council means being one of the 5 countries that always have a place and special powers in the council. India wants to be one of these countries.
Global peacekeeping -: Global peacekeeping involves sending soldiers and police from different countries to help keep peace in areas where there is conflict or war. India has contributed a lot to these missions.
Sustainable development goals -: Sustainable development goals are a set of 17 goals created by the UN to make the world a better place by 2030. They include things like ending poverty, ensuring everyone has clean water, and protecting the environment.
International cooperation -: International cooperation means countries working together to solve problems that affect everyone, like terrorism or climate change.
Equitable governance -: Equitable governance means making sure that rules and decisions are fair and just for everyone, especially when it comes to new technologies.
US support -: US support means that the United States agrees with and helps India’s efforts to get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
