{"id":50755,"date":"2019-07-31T19:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T13:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=50755"},"modified":"2019-07-31T17:31:49","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T12:01:49","slug":"7-pm-padding-up-for-the-next-unsc-innings-31st-july-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-padding-up-for-the-next-unsc-innings-31st-july-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"7 PM | Padding up for the next UNSC innings | 31st July, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Context:\n<\/strong>UNSC\nreforms and possible steps India can make with its non-permanent membership in\nnext UNSC elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More\nin news:<\/strong>\nThe elections for five\nnon-permanent seats on the&nbsp;UN\nSecurity Council&nbsp;for two-year&nbsp;will be\nheld in june 2020. It has been unanimously decided to support\nIndia for an eighth second-year term.&nbsp;This means that India\u2019s election is\nassured and its term will run in the calendar years 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>United\nNations Security Council (UNSC): <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Security Council is the United Nations&#8217; most\npowerful&nbsp;body,\nwith &#8220;primary responsibility&nbsp;for the\nmaintenance of international peace and security.&#8221; &nbsp;Its powers include\nthe establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international\nsanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council\nresolutions; it is the only UN body with the authority to issue&nbsp;<strong>binding\nresolutions<\/strong>&nbsp;to member states.<\/li><li>The\nSecurity Council is composed of fifteen UN member States, five of which are\npermanent members &#8211; United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Russian\nFederation, and China. The permanent members have the power to \u2018veto\u2019 a\nsubstantive decision of the Council by voting against it. The veto is cast much\nless often now than it was during the Cold War, but it is still very much in\nuse as a threat which blocks Council action.<\/li><li>The\nother ten members of the Council are elected by the General Assembly to\ntwo-year non-renewable terms, with five new members elected each year. The ten\nelected members, known in Charter language as &#8220;non-permanent\nmembers,&#8221; are selected according to a distribution formula from each of\nthe world&#8217;s major regions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>UNSC\nReforms:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Security Council&#8217;s membership and working methods reflect a bygone era.\u00a0 Though geopolitics have changed drastically, the Council has changed relatively little since 1945, when wartime victors crafted a Charter in their interest and awarded &#8220;permanent&#8221; veto-wielding Council seats for themselves. <\/li><li>Since 1993, the UN General Assembly has hotly debated Council reform but has not been able to reach agreement.\u00a0 A handful of states aspire to &#8220;permanent&#8221; status for themselves, while many other countries reject such claims.<\/li><li>Most reform proposals revolved around the five core issues of <ul><li>membership categories, <\/li><li>the question of the veto held by the five permanent members, <\/li><li>regional representation, <\/li><li>the size of an enlarged Council, <\/li><li>Council working methods.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Need\nof Reforms: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In a world torn by war and violence, we need a far better\nSecurity Council to promote international peace and security and defend\ninternational law. Since the Council plays a much more active role than in the\npast, its failures are more evident and its reform is more urgent than\never.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The current composition of the Council also gives undue weight to\nthe balance of power of at least a half century ago. Europe, for instance,\nwhich accounts for barely 5 percent of the world\u2019s population, still controls\n33 percent of the SC seats in any given year (and that does not count Russia,\nregarded by much of the world as another European power).<\/li><li>No permanent member from Africa, despite 75% of work of the UNSC\nfocused on Africa.<\/li><li>The UNSC at present doesn\u2019t represent the changing scenario of\nbalance of power.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>India\u2019s Aspiration: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Three among the five permanent members of the Security Council are still against Council reform that would entail a change in their present status. The possibility of changes in the positions of the US and Russia are unlikely since they are in a state of relative decline. Since it is their current status in the Council that provides them pre-eminence on issues related to international peace and security, they are not expected to support any move that reduces their say in global politics. <\/li><li>It is unrealistic to think that China would give up its present privileged status in the UN, even as it seeks greater influence and presence in global politics as a rising power.<\/li><li>Given the consistency of the P5\u2019s positions in the past and the minimal progress towards reform during the last two decades, there are three possible scenarios regarding India\u2019s quest for permanent membership in the Security Council:<ul><li>India takes the leadership of reform calls and actively and relentlessly pushes other countries in that direction. Its latent power, remarkable economic growth, rapidly increasing defence capabilities, status as a nuclear weapons power, and contributions to UN peacekeeping all give it the right and privilege to assume such a responsibility.<\/li><li>To push for Security Council reform without changing the current status of veto power. Since having a seat without veto is almost similar to not having a place in the Council, the likelihood of such a move from India is even less.<\/li><li>India to accept the fact that, given the current pace and momentum, Security Council reform is never going to happen and to consequently search for alternatives to push the agenda of emerging powers.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Indian can use its term as non-permanent member?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India\ncan use its term as a non-permanent member to enhance its credentials as a\nconstructive and responsible member of international society.<\/li><li>India\nis one of the world\u2019s biggest economies. Accordingly, its voice resonates and\nis capable of making a significant contribution during its tenure by\nemphasizing and strengthening multilateralism as a means of making the world\nsafer.<\/li><li>India\nneeds to uphold the objective of a multi-polar world and counter existing\ntrends towards unilateralism, ethno-centrism, protectionism and racial\nintolerance.<\/li><li>It\nshould seek to protect the World Trade Organization from American attempts to\nundermine it, since the WTO\u2019s dispute mechanism is a resource for developing\ncountries.<\/li><li>India\nshould attempt to make progress on the non-discriminatory elimination of\nweapons of mass destruction, protection of the environment against global\nwarming, safeguarding outer space from weaponisation, and enhancing respect for\ndiversity and plurality in world politics.<\/li><li>India\nshould underline the validity of Article 2 of the UN Charter that provides for\nstate sovereignty and safeguards countries against outside interference in the\ndomestic affairs of other states.<\/li><li>India\nshould underline the sanctity of treaties such as the multilateral accord with\nIran endorsed by the Security Council and the Paris Agreement on Climate\nChange.<\/li><li>India\ncould use its presence on the UNSC\u2019s sanctions subcommittee to proscribe\nPakistan-based militant groups and individuals.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>India\u2019s claim for permanent membership\nis a genuine demand in the changed geo politics of 21st century. But at present\nthe UNSC reforms are at a very slow pace. India\u2019s aspiration for permanent\nmembership seems to be on a long hold. However, it is a matter of satisfaction\nand a tribute to Indian diplomacy that the Group unanimously decided this year\nto support India for an eighth second-year term. It is rightly said that\nDiplomats had \u201cno battleships at their disposal&#8230; their weapons are words and\nopportunities\u201d.&nbsp;India\u2019s presence on the UNSC will present opportunities to\nenhance the country\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/lead\/padding-up-for-the-next-unsc-innings\/article28762473.ece\">https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/lead\/padding-up-for-the-next-unsc-innings\/article28762473.ece<\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context: UNSC reforms and possible steps India can make with its non-permanent membership in next UNSC elections. More in news: The elections for five non-permanent seats on the&nbsp;UN Security Council&nbsp;for two-year&nbsp;will be held in june 2020. It has been unanimously decided to support India for an eighth second-year term.&nbsp;This means that India\u2019s election is assured&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-padding-up-for-the-next-unsc-innings-31st-july-2019\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">7 PM | Padding up for the next UNSC innings | 31st July, 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":49370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7-pm","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7-PM.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704783485},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}