Politics
India Demands Equal Veto Rights for All Permanent United Nations Security Council Members
New Delhi warns that creating new permanent seats without veto powers would establish a second tier of membership.
By Headlinne · Compiled from reporting by Hindustan Times, New Indian Express and Hindu
India called for comprehensive reforms at the United Nations, demanding that all permanent members of the Security Council receive veto powers to prevent the creation of a second tier of nations.
Speaking at a United Nations General Assembly plenary session, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni addressed the ongoing debate regarding the structure of the international body.
The United Nations Security Council currently maintains 15 members, consisting of 10 non-permanent members alongside five permanent nations holding absolute veto authority.
Those five permanent powers comprise China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, leaving other global aspirants without comparable blocking privileges.
New Delhi argued that altering the council without extending equal rights would fail to shift the existing decision-making dynamic controlled by the current permanent members.
"A reform that expands the Security Council by creating another category of long-term members without the veto effectively makes them ‘second-class’ members and would not change the decision-making dynamic of the P5," said Parvathaneni.
The diplomat noted that the veto power has been exercised 331 times on roughly 200 resolutions throughout the history of the organization.
He added that the privilege carries a heavy burden that demands significant restraint rather than serving partisan political interests.
"India's position on the veto is principled and well known," he said.
"We reiterate that as long as the veto exists, it must be held by all permanent members of a reformed Council," Parvathaneni added.
The envoy also criticized the reliance on consensus during intergovernmental negotiations, warning that the unwritten rules can function as a disguised veto.
India aligned its demands with the Common Africa Position, advocating for broader regional representation that reflects contemporary geopolitical realities.
Elections for non-permanent seats on the council are scheduled for June 2027, as India pursues a broader role within the international organization.
Reporting from
- Hindustan Times
'Shouldn't be an instrument of narrow political expediency': India calls for veto powers for all UN Security Council members amid reform push
- The New Indian Express
India says new UNSC permanent members without veto would be ‘second-class’
- The HinduBalanced
New UNSC permanent members without veto would be 'second-class': India
How this article was made: Headlinne wrote it with AI from the 3 reports listed above. Direct quotes are checked word for word against those reports, every number appears in at least one of them, and no other sentence is copied from one. Photos are from those reports and credited to them. Each report’s page on Headlinne links to the outlet’s original.