President Ram Nath Kovind calls for urgent reform of UN Security Council

President Ram Nath Kovind has called for an urgent reform of global institutions, with the UN Security Council at its core, to reflect the contemporary global reality.

Addressing a special sitting of the House Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines here on Thursday, Kovind, the first Indian Head of State to visit this Caribbean island nation, said that multilateralism is more relevant in today’s interconnected and interdependent world than it was at any time in our shared history.

The topic of the sitting assembly was “India and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines– Towards an Inclusive World Order”.

Multilateralism ought to be used as an instrument to promote strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth in all nation-states. However, for multilateralism to remain relevant and effective, institutions need to be reformed, he said.

Structures and institutions that emerged after the two world wars focused on one major issue – that of preventing another world war. To tackle the complex issues of today, the new world order that we seek to build is to be an inclusive world order, where every country can express its legitimate interests, he said.

“This can only happen by way of an expanded and better-designed representation system in key global institutions,” he said, adding that India’s objective in advocating for inclusive world order is to promote a universal, rules-based, open, transparent, predictable, non-discriminatory, and equitable multilateral system.

“The need of the hour is, therefore, reform of global institutions, with the UN Security Council at its core, to reflect the contemporary global reality. He noted that on this issue,” he said, adding that India and St. Vincent and the Grenadines share a common interest, approach and understanding.

At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries which are elected for a two-year term by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The five permanent members are Russia, the UK, China, France and the United States and these countries can veto any substantive resolution.

In September, the G4 nations of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan underlined the urgency of reforming the Security Council in order to make it more legitimate, effective and representative by reflecting the reality of the contemporary world, including developing countries and major contributors.

In January 2021, India joined UNSC as a non-permanent member for a two-year term and the country has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the powerful 15-nation UN organ, saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member of the Council, which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st century.