Tanmaya Lal Calls for Urgent Reforms in the United Nations Security Council
New York [US], September 27: Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, has called for urgent reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to make it more representative, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic, and accountable. Lal made these remarks during the UNSC Open Debate on Leadership for Peace.
Lal pointed out that the world is facing severe armed conflicts and that the current multilateral response is inadequate in preventing or resolving these issues. He stated, “Serious armed conflicts are impacting lives, economies, and societies across geographies in our interconnected world. The current multilateral response is falling seriously short in ending and preventing such conflicts, in tackling unrelenting threats from terrorism, and transnational organized crimes, and in ensuring maritime security.”
He emphasized that the UNSC, designed eight decades ago, needs to evolve to reflect the current global landscape. “The UNSC has to become representative, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic, and accountable. Text-based negotiations must begin. Those opposing a meaningful change to global governance structure are damaging UN’s legitimacy, overshadowing its contributions in developmental and humanitarian sectors,” Lal added.
Lal also criticized Pakistan for its alleged support of terrorism, urging the international community to condemn such actions. He said, “Their (Pakistan) support for the elaborate terror ecosystem, training and harboring global terrorists is well documented. It is high time that Pakistan starts working for its own people. Their cynical export of terror in pursuit of their vicious agenda can never succeed. Such continuing threats to international peace and security must be firmly rejected by the international community.”
India has long sought a permanent seat in the Security Council to better represent the interests of the developing world, gaining support from the international community. The UNSC is composed of 15 member states, including five permanent members with veto power and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. The five permanent members are China, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States.
Additionally, Lal spoke about India’s stance on nuclear weapons at the High-level Meeting to Commemorate and Promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations. He stated, “Nuclear weapons continue to pose a grievous danger to humanity. India remains firmly committed to the goal of universal, non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament in a specified time frame.”
Doubts Revealed
Tanmaya Lal -: Tanmaya Lal is an important official in India’s Ministry of External Affairs. He works on matters related to India’s relations with other countries in the western part of the world.
United Nations Security Council -: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is a group of countries that work together to keep peace and security in the world. They make important decisions about how to handle conflicts and wars.
Ministry of External Affairs -: The Ministry of External Affairs is a part of the Indian government that deals with India’s relationships with other countries. They work on things like trade, peace, and helping Indians living abroad.
reforms -: Reforms are changes made to improve something. In this case, it means making the United Nations Security Council better at its job.
representative -: Representative means that it includes people or countries from all over the world, so everyone’s voice is heard.
transparent -: Transparent means being open and clear about what is happening, so everyone knows what decisions are being made and why.
efficient -: Efficient means doing things in a way that saves time and resources, so work gets done quickly and well.
effective -: Effective means doing things in a way that actually solves problems and achieves goals.
democratic -: Democratic means that everyone has a say in decisions, and things are done fairly.
accountable -: Accountable means being responsible for your actions and being able to explain why you did something.
multilateral -: Multilateral means involving many countries working together on a problem.
nuclear disarmament -: Nuclear disarmament means getting rid of nuclear weapons so that no country can use them in wars.
