PM Modi & G-4 Calls for Urgent Reform in UN Security Council
International Organisations
6 min read
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the foreign ministers of the Group of 4 Countries or G-4 have called for urgent reform in the United Nations Security Council structure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York, called for reform in the United Nations to reflect the current geopolitical reality and be relevant.
The Summit of the Future at the United Nations was held on 22-23 September 2024, with the theme of ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’. It was addressed by a number of world leaders.
G4 Demand for Reform in Security Council
G4 is a group of India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany formed in 2005 to seek reform in the United Nations Security Council. All these countries want a permanent seat in the Security Council, which currently has five permanent veto-wielding countries: Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baer-Dock, Japan Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and Brazil Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira met on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on 23 September (24 September in India).
The ministers called for expanding the United Nations' permanent and non-permanent membership to include greater representation of Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
Issue of Reform in the United Nations Security Council
The 15-member Security Council of the United Nations consists of five Permanent members: Russia, China, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom. They all have veto powers. There are 10 non-permanent members who are elected for two years and represent different regions of the world.
Many countries are calling for reform in the Security Council by including new members to reflect the contemporary global power system.
The present United Nations Security Council reflects the post-World War II era when the five victorious countries were given permanent membership.
However, there is a global consensus that the Security Council needs to be reformed, but there is no consensus on who should be included.
China’s Opposition
All four permanent members of the Security Council support India’s membership except China. China does not want any Asian country, especially India and Japan, to become a permanent member of the Security Council as it would undermine its position in the region.
US Position on Reform
Speaking at the Summit of Future at the United Nations General Assembly, United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the US government supports reforming the United Nations to reflect the current geopolitical reality.
He said that the United States supports the permanent membership of India, Japan and Germany. He also aid that there shall be two permanent seats for Africa, one rotating seat for Small Islands Developing States and one permanent seat each for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Coffee Club or Uniting for Consensus
There is another group that is opposed to any expansion in the number of permanent members but supports the expansion of non-permanent members of the Security Council.
Italy founded a group of like-minded countries in 1990, which was known as the Coffee Club. In the 2000s, the group was renamed Uniting for Consensus. It includes Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Malta, Mexico, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, San Marino, Spain, and Turkey.
Details about Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the United States
