Modi calls for UN reform — RT India
‘Global South’ needs more votes in Security Council, says Indian PM
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for the UN to be reformed to “Reflect the realities of the present.” India has long dreamed of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and its demands are now shared by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“Why does the UN, which was created with the idea of establishing peace, not succeed in preventing conflicts today?” Modi addressed G7 leaders in Hiroshima on Sunday. “The institutions created in the last century are not in phase with the system of the 21st century”, he went on to add that “they do not reflect the realities of the present.”
“That is why it is necessary that reforms are implemented in major institutions like the UN,” he stated. “They will also have to become the voice of the countries of the South. Otherwise, we will only continue to talk about ending conflicts. The UN and the Security Council will remain only a chat room.
The Security Council is made up of 15 members, ten of whom serve two-year terms on the body and cannot veto resolutions. Formed in 1945, the Security Council can apply sanctions, authorize military action and refer cases to the International Criminal Court – but only with the unanimous consent of the five permanent members.
These five nations – the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France and Russia – were the first five states to acquire nuclear weapons, and the veto system and resulting stalemate were largely designed to prevent them from engaging in nuclear war with each other.
India has since acquired its own atomic weapons and, along with Brazil, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa, is seen as one of the leading candidates to join a Security Council enlarged as a permanent member.
Russia has argued for a more diverse Security Council for years, with Moscow’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, telling the council last year that he “can only be democratized by increasing the representation of African, Asian and Latin American states”.
On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed Modi’s calls for reform, telling reporters he supported reforming the Security Council to better reflect the “realities of today’s world.”
RT
