India’s call for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council has found support among major global players with US and France being the pioneers in pushing New Delhi’s inclusion. The latest country to join the chorus is UK after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country wants to see a permanent seat for India in the UNSC.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Starmer said, “We want to see permanent African representation on the Council, Brazil, India, Japan and Germany as permanent members, and more seats for elected members as well.”
The UNSC currently has five permanent and 10 non-permanent members. The permanent members are US, UK, China, France and Russia while the non-permanent members are elected by UNGA for two-year terms each.
“If we want the system to deliver for the poorest and most vulnerable then their voices must be heard. We need to make the system more representative and more responsive to those who need it most. So we will make the case not just for fairer outcomes, but fairer representation in how we reach them. And this also applies to the Security Council. It has to change to become a more representative body, willing to act – not paralysed by politics,” Starmer added.
Starmer echoed the remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron who also called for greater representation of the security council and pushed for the permanent membership of countries like India and Japan.
“Let’s make the UN more efficient. We need to make it more representative and that’s why France is in favour of the Security Council being expanded. Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil should be permanent members, along with two countries that Africa will decide to represent them,” Macron said.
Last week, US President Joe Biden expressed his support for India’s bid to gain a permanent seat at UNSC.
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