'Willing to act': After US and France, UK backs India's permanent membership in UN Security Council

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UN Security Council has to change to become a more representative body without being "paralysed by politics". His remarks signals a growing demand to increase the number of permanent members in the 15-member Council.

New York: After US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, it is now British Prime Minister Keir Starmer who has lent support to India's permanent membership to a reformed United Nations Security Council. This further signals a growing demand to increase the number of permanent members to reflect the contemporary global reality.

While addressing the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, Starmer said, "If we want the system to deliver for the poorest and most vulnerable then their voices must be heard. We need to make the system more representative and more responsive to those who need it most. So we will make the case not just for fairer outcomes, but fairer representation in how we reach them."

"This also applies to the Security Council. It has to change to become a more representative body, willing to act – not paralysed by politics. We want to see permanent African representation on the Council, Brazil, India, Japan and Germany as permanent members, and more seats for elected members as well," he added.

What did US and France say on India's inclusion in UNSC?

While addressing the Assembly on Wednesday, Macron said, "We have a Security Council that is blocked...Let’s make the UN more efficient. We have to make it more representative". "That's why," he said, "France is in favour of the Security Council being expanded. Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil should be permanent members, as well as two countries that Africa will decide to represent it."

These remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a three-day trip to the United States, where he was hosted by US President Joe Biden at his residence in Delaware on September 21.  Biden, 81, expressed immense appreciation for India's leadership on the world stage, particularly PM Modi's leadership in the G20 and the Global South.

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According to the White House, the US President lauded Modi's commitment to strengthen the Quad to ensure a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, said the White House. He said India is at the forefront of efforts to seek solutions to the most pressing challenges, from supporting the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic to addressing the devastating consequences of conflicts around the world.

Additionally, Biden shared with the Indian PM that the US supports initiatives to reform global institutions to reflect India’s important voice, including permanent membership for India in a reformed UN Security Council. The leaders also voiced their view that a closer US-India partnership is vital to the success of efforts to build a cleaner, inclusive, more secure, and more prosperous future for the planet.  

India's call for permanent seat in UNSC

India has been at the forefront of efforts at the UN to push for urgent long-pending reform of the Security Council, emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member. India argues that the 15-nation council founded in 1945 is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geo-political realities.

At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries which are elected for a two-year term by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The five permanent members are Russia, the UK, China, France and the United States and these countries can veto any substantive resolution. India last sat at the UN high table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22

In a joint statement after the Quad Leaders' Summit last week, India, the US, Japan and Australia said, "We will reform the UN Security Council, recognizing the urgent need to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council. This expansion of permanent seats should include representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in a reformed Security Council."

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