It’s the high table where India has long sought a seat as a legitimate right as the world’s largest democracy and an important military and economic power. However, it has found the door tightly shut to the permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC) — the select club of the US, Russia, China, France and the UK. New Delhi has had to be content with periodic election as a non-permanent member and has now begun its month-long presidency of the key UN body. Here’s what that means and how it has said it plans to drive the agenda of the Security Council under its leadership.
How Did The UNSC Presidency Pass To India?
Apart from the five permanent members, the UNSC also includes 10 non-permanent members who are each chosen for a two-year term. India has been elected as a non-permanent member on seven occasions in the past and started its eighth stint on January 1 this year. The 10 non-permanent members have to earn election by the UN General Assembly. According to UN rules, the General Assembly “elects each year five non-permanent members" who have to bag two-thirds majority to qualify for the seat.
In June last year, India made the cut after securing 184 votes in the 193-member General Assembly for the 2021-22 term. Apart from India, the nine other non-permanent members at present are Tunisia, Vietnam, Estonia, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The presidency of UNSC changes hands for a period of one month each between its members following the English alphabetical order of the member states’ names. The presidency passed to India from France and in September 2021, Ireland will take over from India.
What Are The Powers Of The UNSC President?
The UNSC Handbook says that the president is “responsible for the conduct of the meetings of the Security Council and is authorised to represent (it) in relations with other organs of the UN and with member states".
Importantly, the president decides the provisional agenda for the month in which it is in charge and can call meetings when it deems it necessary. It also presides over the meetings.
What Agenda Has India Proposed For Its Presidency?
As India took over the presidency, the Russian ambassador Nikolay Kudashev lauded New Delhi for deciding on an agenda “which embraces pressing global issues including maritime security, peacekeeping & counter-terrorism". India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti said that the UNSC “will also have on its agenda several important meetings including Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and the Middle East".
Apart from that it will “also be adopting important resolutions on Somalia, Mali, & UN Interim Force in Lebanon," TS Tirumurti said. With counter-terrorism being a part of the agenda mooted by India, there was a message from Pakistan — whose soil has been used by terror actors to launch attacks against India — that it hopes New Delhi “will abide by the relevant rules and norms governing the conduct of the Security Council Presidency".
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over a UNSC meeting, which would make him the first Indian PM to do so. Syed Akbaruddin, a former permanent representative of India to UN, in a tweet said there was “a first in the making" as “an Indian Prime Minister may perhaps preside, albeit virtually, a Council meeting for 1st time on 9 August 2021".
Do Non-Permanent Members Get Veto Power?
The UN says that apart from their status as permanent members, the “veto power is probably the UN Charter’s most significant distinction between permanent and non-permanent members". Which means that the non-permanent members do not enjoy the veto power.
Article 27 of the UN Charter says each member of the UNSC shall have one vote and that decisions on “procedural matters" shall require no more than the affirmative vote of nine out of the 15 members. However, decisions on any other matter needs not only an affirmative vote of nine members but also the concurring votes of the permanent members.
The UN defines ‘veto’ as a “special voting power", which provides that “if any one of the five permanent members cast a negative vote in (UNSC), the resolution or decision would not be approved".
Can India Push Its Case For Inclusion As Permanent Member During Its UNSC Presidency?
In the run-up to India taking over the UNSC presidency, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla was reported to have said that the country would make the best of its two-year term as a UNSC member to establish its credentials for being a permanent member.
“We will make the best of our two-year term in the Security Council. We will leave our mark in the Council and our point is to say that India really, by its contribution, establishes the right to be a permanent member of UN Security Council," he said.
India’s bid for a permanent UNSC seat has received backing from successive US Presidents going back at least to George W Bush and including his successors Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, had in his campaign policy document last year talked about supporting India as a permanent member. The UK, France and Russia, too, are known to back India’s bid but the biggest stumbling block in that regard is China, which has reportedly been using its veto to block India’s elevation as a permanent UNSC member.
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