United Nations: The UK has voiced support for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil to sit as permanent members in an expanded UN Security Council.
Speaking during the General Assembly debate on Security Council reform Thursday, UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward said that the United Kingdom has long called for the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories.
“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,” Woodward said.
“We support the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as permanent African representation on the Council. We also support an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership, taking the Security Council’s total membership to somewhere in the mid-twenties,” she said.
Woodward said with these changes, the Council would be more representative of the world today.
“And, coupled with a renewed commitment to the UN Charter, it would be better able to respond decisively to threats to international peace and security,” she said.
Among the five permanent members of the 15-nation Council, the US, UK, France and Russia have supported a permanent seat for India in the UN body.
India’s current two-year term as non-permanent member of the Security Council will end next month, after it has presided over the 15-nation Council.
New Delhi and other G4 nations of Brazil, Germany and Japan have been at the forefront of efforts calling for urgent reform of the Security Council, which has remained deeply divisive in dealing with current challenges.
India has asserted that the Council, in its current form, does not reflect today’s geo-political realities and its credibility is at risk if nations such developing powers like India do not have a permanent seat at the horse-shoe table.
The G4 upholds the need for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council, with the expansion of seats in both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, equitable regional representation, more transparent and inclusive working methods and an enhanced relationship with other UN bodies, including the General Assembly.
PTI
