In a speech at the UNSC this week, the Indian Permanent Representative called the UN Charter “anachronistic”, adding that it has failed in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, terrorism and climate change.
Indian ambassador Ruchira Kamboj was speaking at a session convened by Russia that called for a discussion on how to make multilateralism effective “by defending the UN Charter”.
Perpetuating a UN Security Council built on an “anachronistic mindset” will also mean the continuing loss of faith in the world organisation, India has said as resounding calls from all sides for reform echoed in its chamber.
India’s Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj on April 25 said that, to preserve the UN’s effectiveness and credibility there has to be “widening the representation of this core institution, the Security Council to more developing countries”.
“If we continue to perpetuate the 1945 anachronistic mindset (of the post-World War II era), we will continue to lose the faith our people have in the UN,” she said.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several countries stressed the need to reform the Council — and even the main antagonists, Russia and the US, agreed on that.
Speaking at the meeting of the Council onA”Effective Multilateralism”, Guterres said: “A majority now acknowledge that the Security Council itself would benefit from reforms that reflect today’s geopolitical reality.”
That is also true of the international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, he said.
While countries from around the world backed him up with the demands for reform, the African nations were the most vociferous, warning that they were running out of patience.
Illustrating the moribund state of the UN when it comes to the Security Council, Kamboj took a dig at the UN Charter document which still gives permanent seats to the “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” that no longer exists and the seat has been held by the Russian Federation since 1991, and to the “Republic of China”, the official name of Taiwan, although the seat was transferred to the People’s Republic of China in 1971.
“When we see the world’s largest democracy, along with entire continents of Africa and Latin America, being kept out of global decision-making, we rightly call for a major course correction,” she said.
Even West Asian and Gulf countries are demanding immediate reforms so that their voices are also equally heard.
A positive development, she said, was the recommendation of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism which called for a renewed effort for reforms.
Member countries are not questioning the existing Security Council’s authority, but also seek to reform financial institutions like IMF and WTO, which are largely perceived as discriminatory towards the developing world. China’s Permanent Representative Zhang Jun supported calls for reforming international financial institutions, but was silent on the Council.
Meanwhile, India is currently the president of the G20, the group of developed and emerging countries, where it seeks to project the voices of the Global South. Apart from G20, several other multilateral organizations which also promote regional cooperation and stability are SCO and BRICS, which are gaining momentum and challenging the west led exclusive world order.
In his speech, Guterres forthrightly criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a violation of international law and the UN Charter. Multilateral cooperation is the “beating heart” but at a time when “we face unprecedented and interlocking crises”, he said, “the multilateral system is under greater strain than at any time since the creation of the UN”.
With “tensions between major powers are at a historic high”, he warned, “the risks of conflict, through misadventure or miscalculation”.
India, who is advocating and aligning its objectives for the Global South through its G20 presidency has realized that several other multilateral organizations which also promote regional cooperation and stability like SCO and BRICS should be encouraged to be proactive, they are gaining momentum and challenging the West led exclusive world order.
UNO may not eradicate, but would definitely fade away into irrelevance, if not taking the breaking points of the under-represented countries in priority. The process has already begun.
