UK reiterates support for India’s permanent United Nations Security Council seat

The United Kingdom reiterated its support for the creation of new permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, calling for the expansion of the council in both permanent and non-permanent categories.

Addressing the UNSC’s annual debate on Security Council reform, UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said, “Our position is well known. The United Kingdom has long called for the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories.”

“We support the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as permanent African representation on the Council,” she said stating that the UK also supports an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership, taking the Security Council’s total membership to somewhere in the mid-20s.

Meanwhile, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj spoke on behalf of the G4 countries including Brazil, Germany and Japan, voicing her regret over the lack of substantive work after four decades of equitable representation.

“Representation is an inescapable precondition for legitimacy and effectiveness,” she said.

“The longer the Security Council reform is stalled, the greater its deficit in representation. And representation is an inescapable precondition for its legitimacy and effectiveness,” she added.

“This will not be achieved without enhancing the membership in both categories. Only this will enable the Council to effectively manage today’s global conflicts and increasingly complex and interconnected global challenges it faces today,” she further said.