External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar remarked on Sunday that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resembles an old club whose existing members are reluctant to admit new member states and unwilling to relinquish control.
“Security Council is like an old club, where there are set members who don't want to let go of the grip. They want to keep control over the club. Not very keen to admit more members, not keen to have their practices questioned,” he said while speaking at an event in Bengaluru.
Jaishankar criticized the council, citing its ineffectiveness on crucial issues such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, where consensus remains elusive. He expressed concern that the UN's diminishing effectiveness is adversely affecting the world. According to Jaishankar, a significant number of countries globally express a desire for reform.
"In a way, it's a human failing. But I think today it is harming the world. It is harming the world because, on key issues confronting the world, the UN is getting less and less effective. And I can also tell you the global sentiment. I mean, today, if you ask 200 countries in the world, do you want reform or don't you want reform? A very large number of countries would say, yes, we want reform," he said.
The UN Security Council, responsible for international peace and security, consists of five permanent members—France, China, Russia, the UK, and the US. Calls for reforms to ensure a more balanced and responsive representation within the council have been mounting.
UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis recently emphasized the need for a more balanced, representative, responsive, democratic, and transparent Security Council. He expressed concern over the council's current state of paralysis in fulfilling its primary responsibility.
"The Security Council - whose primary responsibility is to maintain international peace and security - however, seems caught in a concerning state of paralysis," he said.
Dr. Jaishankar has previously urged the UN to undergo reforms for continued relevance in the modern world, emphasizing that the issue cannot remain unaddressed. In his address to the 78th UNGA in New York, he stressed the importance of moving towards a fair, equitable, and democratic international order, asserting that a few nations should not dominate the agenda and define norms indefinitely.
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