The Security Council as it is today is unable to bring peace and security in the world and so there is reason for countries like India to become members of the Council, Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
"Will the President, while he is in India and probably while he is speaking to the Parliament, utter the words, 'The United States supports India's permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council' or not?
First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN called Pakistan a 'hub of terrorism'.
Determined to continue their efforts for reforms in the United Nations, India, Brazil and South Africa have called for "immediate, element-based and result-oriented" inter-governmental negotiations for the expansion of Security Council.
"We have a strong view that there should be Security Council reform of the United Nations, that the Security Council should reflect the modern world, which is why we've suggested that both India and Japan should become permanent members of a reformed United Nations Security Council," the Australian foreign minister said.
The United Kingdom, France and Nepal have supported India's candidature as a permanent member of a reformed United Nations Security Council as member nations expressed frustration at the lack of progress on long-pending reforms in the powerful UN body.
China is a permanent member of the UNSC while India began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member on January 1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a fresh push for reforms in global institutions, including the United Nations, asserting that the world's 'new realities' should be reflected in 'new global structure' as it is nature's law that those who don't change with times lose their relevance.
In his pre-recorded video statement to the landmark General Debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Modi said the stability in the United Nations and empowerment of the world body are essential for the welfare of the world.
India on Thursday (local time) wrapped up its December Presidency of the United Nations Security Council with a special focus on terrorism, Global South and maritime security.
Noting that the last reforms to the Security Council were made in the sixties, Ambassador of France to India Jerome Bonnafont said "if we want the Security Council to remain a legitimate place for handling peace and security crisis in the world, it is absolutely necessary to have India as well as couple of others as permanent members."
The US welcomed the election of India as a non-permanent member of the powerful UN Security Council along with South Africa and Brazil and hoped these countries would play an important and constructive role in resolving key global issues together.
India will push hard for an early implementation of comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council and expansion in its membership when inter-governmental negotiations on the issue begin in New York on Thursday.
Criticising the G-4 proposals, Pakistani UN Ambassador Munir Akram said a vote on it should be avoided as it would 'divide the membership and raise tensions in different parts of the world'.
China has signalled that it will prevent India from assuming leadership of the Global South, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
India has criticised the UN over lack of any 'specific concrete action' by member states to penalise those who attack.
New Delhi's candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of seven countries, including the United Kingdom, on the sidelines of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday said he views the current situation in Ukraine as an issue of humanity and human values and not of politics or economy even as he called for respecting international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has acknowledged that the dreaded terror group Islamic State poses one of the greatest challenges facing the international community today and said there is a need to "delink terrorism from religion".
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday discussed issues relating to Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific during his bilateral meetings with global counterparts on the sidelines of the annual high-level UN General Assembly session.
Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi has opposed the expansion of the United Nations Security Council by including countries like India which would spur a 'competition' with nations like Pakistan wanting to get in.
India and Africa on Wednesday declared their support to each other for a permanent seat in the expanded United Nations Security Council and favoured reforms of the world body to make it more representative and democratic.
Delivering a thinly veiled message to Pakistan from its soil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said activities across borders characterised by the 'three evils' of terrorism, extremism and separatism are unlikely to encourage trade, energy flows and connectivity.
What are India's chances of getting a permanent seat in a revamped UN Security Council?
A statement issued by the Pakistan mission claimed that Lodhi last week "exposed" the G-4 position on Security Council expansion.
Deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a strong warning against threats to ban her Awami League party, calling the demands "audacious" and accusing Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus of being a "fraud" and "corrupt" for his role in the current interim government. Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August 2024 following a student-led uprising, claims Yunus assumed power through a "meticulous design" with funding from overseas and misled students and people. She asserts that her Awami League is the legitimate party, with a strong history of fighting for the people's rights, and accuses Yunus and his supporters of having no constitutional basis or people's mandate to rule the country.
India, Japan, Germany and Brazil, collectively called Group of Four (G-4), are strong candidates for permanent seats in an expanded Council.
More than a decade after India launched a spirited campaign for a United Nations Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism as well as reform of the UN Security Council, both in the permanent and non-permanent categories, there is renewed hope that both campaigns may succeed, thanks to India's untiring diplomatic efforts at the world body. Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti, made the remarks while speaking at a special flag installation ceremony organised at the Security Council stakeout here on Monday. Flags of the five new incoming non-permanent members of the Security Council - India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico - were installed at the stakeout during the special ceremony.
'Kofi Annan will be remembered more for his Nobel Prize and related glory rather than Rwanda and Volcker,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan with whom he worked in the UN.
India's permanent membership in the reformed UNSC is unacceptable to Pakistan
Britain has backed India for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council to make the world body more credible and effective.
India's entry into the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member has kicked off a flurry of consultations with the world powers over issues related to the powerful world body, including its reforms, under which New Delhi is seeking permanent membership.
"Time has come for Pakistan to decide in its own interests. We will do what's in Pakistan's interests," Qureshi told Geo TV in an interview.
Elections for the five non-permanent members of the 15-nation Council for the 2021-22 term will be held around June next year.
At a critical time in the history of the United Nations, when the global order itself may be reshaped, following a devastating pandemic, India has chosen an experienced, charming and upright diplomat to lead the Indian delegation to the UN in New York.
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