'UN needs to be more democratic and representative': Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that since India has still not found a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the “moral legitimacy” of the global body is getting “undermined.”

His comments came during an address at a seminar held in New Delhi to mark 75 years of United Nations Peacekeeping. The defence minister also said that now is the time that UN bodies become “more democratic and representative of the current realities of our age”.

“While we commemorate the past, we must also look towards the future. One important reform that stares us in our faces is to make UN decision-making bodies, including the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), more reflective of demographic realities of the world,” Singh said as he shared the dias with UN Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp.

UNSC currently comprises five permanent members China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US. There are 10 elected non-permanent members who serve two-year terms. India completed its two-year term in December last year.

“When India, the most populous nation of the world, does not find a seat as a permanent member of the UNSC, it tends to undermine the moral legitimacy of the UN. Therefore, the time has come for making the UN bodies more democratic and representative of the current realities of our age,” Singh added.

Singh also said that innovation and enhanced international cooperation among countries are required to ensure the safety of the world and keep UN Peacekeepers effective in today’s challenging times.

At the same time, the defence minister commended the achievements of UN peacekeeping operations across the globe and highlighted the importance of such missions.

With inputs from agencies

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