New Delhi slams UN reform proposal from Italian-led group

India on Tuesday reiterated its demand for more permanent members in the UN Security Council from Global South countries, while vehemently opposing reforms suggested by the Uniting for Consensus group spearheaded by Italy. 

Uniting for Consensus’ (UfC) latest proposal, outlined by Italy’s permanent representative to the UN, Maurizio Massari, on Monday, suggests increasing the number of non-permanent members from the current ten to 22, and introducing re-electable non-permanent seats, with a longer term – ranging from three to five years, instead of the current two years. 

The group, however, opposes the expansion of permanent membership in the Security Council, arguing that it would “make the council less democratic,” while also advocating for the abolition of the veto. In its updated model, UfC proposes that permanent members commit not to use the veto in certain circumstances, such as “mass atrocities and war crimes.” 

The UfC includes, apart from Italy, countries such as Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Malta, Mexico, Pakistan, South Korea, San Marino, Spain, and Turkey, with China and Indonesia acting as observers. The 12-member group is generally opposed by the Group of Four (G4) – India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil – which argues for expanding permanent membership in the Security Council.

Commenting on the latest proposal by UfC, Ruchira Kamboj, New Delhi’s representative to the UN, questioned why Africa should not be represented in the permanent membership category. “The point on Africa also extends to the member states of the Global South,” she added. “Without representation, without a mandate, without a seat, without a voice, which representation entails, members of the Global South would just come and go, which… would be unacceptable.”

India has increasingly positioned itself as the voice of the Global South and was instrumental in including the African Union in the G20 last year.

Kamboj has also said that expanding the council in both categories is “absolutely essential,” while the proposed model does not provide sufficient checks and balances. She also suggested that “when asking for an impossible consensus preceding text-based negotiations,” UfC was “just vetoing the whole process and suggesting a my-way-or-the-highway approach.” 

Earlier this month, New Delhi presented a UNSC reform model on behalf of the G4 nations that proposed increasing membership from the current 15 to 25-26, by adding six permanent and four or five non-permanent members.

New Delhi has been pressing for permanent membership on the council for many years. Among the council’s five permanent members, the US, UK, France, and Russia have expressed support for India’s permanent membership. China, however, has remained silent on the matter. Expansion is likely to be on the agenda at the UN’s Summit of the Future later this year.

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