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Deccan Herald
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Intent and inclusion: The case for reform in UNSC
The United Nations (UN) is generally considered the guardian of democracy around the world. Among the six organs, the most important one, the Security Council, is the least democratic and continues the colonial legacy of five permanent states holding veto powers and threatening international May 29, as UN representatives walked into the Trusteeship Council Chamber to take part in the most recent session of Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform, they were well aware of the clock on the podium. The composition of the body under modernisation remains in a semblance to its composition after the expansion from 11 to 15 seats in 1965, with five permanent members and 10 elected members rotating every two years. As per the Security Council Report, only 65% of resolutions in 2024 were adopted unanimously, far less than the levels required for the communication of global legitimacy. The cases in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan each saw draft resolutions blocked by vetoes or threatened present paralysis of the Security Council has profound strategic and humanitarian consequences. Israel's attack on Iran and the US bombing of the nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan escalated Gaza's already calamitous war into an acute interstate conflict. In response to this escalation, the Iranian Majlis and Guardian Council legislated measures suspending real-time IAEA monitoring and prohibiting inspectors from entry, de facto dismantling the JCPOA's verification a result, insurance rates on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have increased by 40%, refugee flows are overwhelming Jordan and Lebanon, and Gulf monarchies are hurriedly adopting heightened hedging strategies. This incident powerfully illustrates how veto-driven politics enable unilateral nuclear year's Pact for the Future – adopted at the 2024 Summit of the Future – pledged to deliver a Council that is 'representative, effective, democratic and accountable' for the UN's 80th anniversary summit this year. That promise has set an unofficial deadline and put pressure on negotiations that, since 2009, had been ridiculed as a slow-motion process without groups compete for the centre stage. The G4 grouping – India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan – joined by the 50-state L.69 cluster calls for six new permanent seats (two African, two Asia-Pacific, one Latin America–Caribbean and one Western European) and four or five more elected seats, expanding the Council to 25 or 26 members. The African Group, invoking the 2005 Ezulwini Consensus, seeks at least two permanent seats with full veto equality or veto abolition. The Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group of Italy, Pakistan, and Mexico opposes any new permanent seats and suggests longer, renewable elected terms – the so-called '3+3 model' – and denounces the veto as an anachronism. The three blueprints agree on one point: each side now agrees that the Council can expand up to 21 and 27 members, a new arena of tentative consensus which diplomats hope to September 2024, the United States officially supported two permanent seats for African countries, India, Japan, and Germany – a declaration seen by some African nations as a bargaining chip and by others as a negotiating strategy. Yet, Washington would hold back on granting any additional veto powers, emphasising that veto power is a contentious issue in every proposed draft. France and the United Kingdom urge voluntary veto restraint; Russia and China defend this privilege; numerous small states would welcome its abolition. Without a consensus proposal, the enlargement prospect threatens to institutionalise a permanent member hierarchy, expanding the legitimacy gap that reform seeks to voices are interest is not just a matter of prestige; we are the G20's largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping, a vocal voice on Global South debt relief, and a would-be agenda-setter on digital governance. Yet, when the Council is stuck over Myanmar's coup, Gaza's humanitarian ceasefire, or Red Sea maritime security, India has to speak from the General Assembly's back benches or in its occasional two-year elected membership. A permanent seat would turn an occasional, transactional presence into an institutional voice, enabling India to push terrorism, climate-security, cyber norms, and development finance into the Council's regular the UN is unable to reform its principal peace and security body, sceptics ask, why should governments rely on it to mediate new sectors such as artificial intelligence, asteroid mining, or global pandemic management?.A Council that systematically excludes Africa, Latin America, and the world's largest democracy from the decision-making process fails this test. The 80th anniversary is a remarkable coming together of symbolism and pragmatism. Delivering a zero-draft resolution to the assembly ahead of the September summit would compel governments either to haggle line by line or to justify to their citizens their preference for stalemate over at its essence, is the art of being on time. If the General Assembly can deliver a framework that honours Africa's insistence upon dignity, addresses the UfC's grievances about the entrenchment of privilege, and finds a place for emerging powers like India that recognises their attained status, the UN will not merely be changing its seating arrangements but demonstrating its usefulness in a growingly fractured multilateral world. The only thing left to be decided is whether the 80-year-old UN will be venerated as a dynamic institution ready to wriggle out of the colonial legacy with the ability to develop itself, or seen as an anachronism that is too feeble to adapt..(Neil is head of the Department of Political Science, St Joseph's University; Paul is a professor at the university and Principal, St Joseph's Evening College)
United News of India
16-06-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
India, Cyprus call for concerted action against cross-border terrorism
Nicosia (Cyprus), June 16 (UNI) India and Cyprus on Monday called for disruption of terrorism financing networks, elimination of safe havens, dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and bringing perpetrators of terrorism to justice swiftly while Cyprus strongly condemned the gruesome killing of civilians by terrorists in Pahalgam. The two countries emphasised the need for a comprehensive, coordinated and sustained approach to combatting cross-border terrorism and underscored the importance of working collaboratively, bilaterally and with the multilateral system to eliminate the scourge. In a joint declaration issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendera Modi and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides here, the two countries reiterated zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, rejecting any justification for such acts under any circumstances. They emphasized that those responsible for the attacks should be held accountable while Cyprus expressed solidarity and unwavering support to India in its fight against cross-border terrorism. Prime Minister Modi is currently visiting Cyprus as part of his three-nation tour, primarily to attend the 51st G-7 Summit in Canada. The two leaders urged all States to respect the sovereignty of other nations and condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening multilateral efforts to combat terrorism and called for the expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the UN framework. They called for concerted actions against all UN and EU-designated terrorists and terrorist entities, associated proxy groups, facilitators and sponsors, including terrorists under 1267 UNSC Sanctions Committee. They unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including international and cross-border terrorism and reaffirmed their shared commitment to countering hybrid threats that undermine peace and stability. They reiterated their strong commitment to continue taking active measures to disrupt terrorist financing channels including through the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Both leaders discussed the need for reform of the United Nations Security Council, including ways to make it more effective, efficient, and representative of the contemporary geopolitical challenges. The two leaders expressed support to forward movement in the Intergovernmental Negotiations on United Nations Security Council reform, and reiterated their commitment to make continuous efforts to move towards text-based negotiations. Cyprus reiterated its support for the enhancement of the representative character of the United Nations Security Council expansion with India as a permanent member in an expanded United Nations Security Council. They also agreed to engage in close cooperation and support each other at the United Nations including supporting each other's candidacies to multilateral forums. Acknowledging emerging challenges within the international security environment, the leaders stressed the importance of enhancing strategic autonomy, defence readiness and defence capabilities. They agreed to deepen their defence and security cooperation, including through collaboration between their respective defence industries, with a special focus on cybersecurity and emerging technologies. Recognizing both India and Cyprus as maritime nations with deep-rooted naval traditions, the two leaders discussed expanding cooperation to include the maritime domain and encourage more regular port calls by Indian naval vessels exploring opportunities for joint maritime training and exercises to enhance maritime domain awareness and regional security. In that vein, and in light of ongoing global crises, both sides committed to strengthening cooperation in emergency preparedness and coordinated crisis response. Drawing on past successful efforts, the leaders agreed to institutionalize coordination in evacuation and Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. Earlier the President of Cyprus warmly welcomed the Prime Minister Modi. Prime Minister Modi's visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Cyprus in over two decades, marks a historic milestone and reaffirms the deep and enduring friendship between the two nations. The visit celebrates not only a shared history, but a forward-looking partnership, rooted in a joint strategic vision and mutual trust and respect. The two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional, and global issues, underscoring the growing breadth and depth of cooperation between Cyprus and India. They welcomed recent progress in economic, technological, and people-to-people ties, reflective of the dynamic and evolving nature of the relationship. Acknowledging the increasing alignment of their values, interests, international outlook and vision, both sides expressed determination to further advancing this partnership across key sectors. They expressed commitment to deepening their cooperation as trusted and indispensable partners contributing to regional and global peace, prosperity and stability. UNI RB PRS
