Reform, terror in focus as India assumes UNSC chair
WASHINGTON: As India takes over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on December 1, in the final month of its two-year stint as a non-permanent member in the council, it will double down on its core agenda of pushing UN reform and countering terror.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar will travel to New York to preside over sessions on these two signature themes of the Indian presidency on December 14 and 15, Ruchira Kamboj, India’s permanent representative to the UN said.
But beyond that, India believes that it has used its stint in the council, in the words of Kamboj, to project itself as a “caring, creative, collaborative, contributory” member-state which has been “a voice of reason, a bridge builder, and a voice of the global south”.
For independent experts, India’s stint in UNSC marked the presence of an independent power, which took decisions without aligning with any bloc.
December’s twin agenda On December 14, Jaishankar will preside over a session on a new orientation to reformed multilateralism. UN General Assembly (UNGA) president Csaba Korosi and Secretary General Antonio Guterres will brief the council.
During the UNGA’S high-level debate in September, UNSC figured high on the agenda, with US President Joe Biden calling for reform (an official later said that this included support for India’s claim for permanent membership) and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov explicitly mentioning India among the countries which should have a seat on the global high table.
Kamboj said, “The UN architecture is crying for change. Seventy-six countries during the high level debate spoke of reformed multilateralism, with 73 calling for UN reform. There was a noticeable shift in the US position. With intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) starting in January, India will keep the spotlight on the issue.” The IGN process is the key framework for discussing UN reform.
Delhi hopes the process will lead to a text that can be taken to the General Assembly, where all countries (including China which has rhetorically supported reform while opposing it in reality) will have to show their hand. Experts want to wait and watch.
Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group, among the most widely respected analysts on UN, acknowledged that there was a push for reform, but was cautious.
“We have seen previous waves of reform talk, like that following the 2003 Iraq war, gather pace but then ebb away with no results. Right now, I find diplomats very divided...”
Gowan said that from India’s perspective, it made sense to use its last month in the council to press the issue of reform.
“In cricketing terms, there are times in a Test match when you need to conserve wickets and play it safe — and there are times when you need to swing for the boundary. In light of Biden’s comments, and with everyone talking about reform, it’s natural for India to swing for the boundary...”
On December 15, Jaishankar will chair a session on countering terror, with the undersecretary general of the UN office for counter terror, Vladimir Voronkov, scheduled to brief the Council.
Kamboj said, “This has been India’s priority and follows closely the Counter-terrorism Committee meeting and the No Money for Terror ministerial conference.”