India slams 17 rounds of deadlock on UN Security Council reform

India criticised the prolonged deadlock in UN Security Council reform talks after another rollover. It said only text-based negotiations with timelines can deliver credible change.

In Short

• The General Assembly extended the negotiations into its 81st session
• New Delhi said repeated cluster debates have produced no actionable outcomes
• India wants text-based discussions with timelines, milestones and broader representation

India on Tuesday sharply criticised the lack of progress on reforms of the UN Security Council, saying 17 rounds of Inter-Governmental Negotiations have yielded no concrete result and that the process cannot be held hostage by the narrow interests of a few countries. The UN General Assembly decided to roll over the negotiations to its 81st session, continuing an annual practice that has now entered its 18th year without a clear outcome or end-date.

Joining the consensus on the rollover, India said the need for comprehensive reform of the 15-member Council is urgent, especially at a time when there is growing disappointment over its inability to respond meaningfully to conflicts around the world. New Delhi said the way forward is through text-based negotiations with clearly defined timelines and milestones, and that any real reform must expand both the permanent and non-permanent categories with greater representation for the Global South.

The negotiations on the question of equitable representation and increase in the membership of the Security Council will now continue in the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, which begins in September. Speaking at the adoption of the oral decision, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said, “The 80th IGN session, like the previous sessions, has not been successful in forging any outcomes or initiatives that could pave the way for implementing real reforms. The cluster-debates have largely been a reiteration of known positions of member states and groups.”

Harish also invoked Indian philosophy to underline the slow pace of the process. “The IGN has been through seventeen cycles already. Sadly, however, there is no liberation in sight. How much longer should the world wait?” he said. He added that every session spent “regurgitating” positions from the “comfort of New York” weakens the hope for a fit-for-purpose UN in the real world.

Voicing strong criticism of the deadlock, Harish said, “There is a palpable sense of disappointment among Member States and global citizenry regarding the inability of the Security Council to meaningfully intervene in conflicts across the globe. The need for comprehensive UN Security Council reforms cannot be more pronounced, and more urgent. It cannot be held hostage by the narrow, divisive interests of a select few Member States.” He said India stands ready to contribute to a genuine reform process and added, “It is our sincere hope that the 81st IGN session would mark a new beginning on this count.”

Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched India’s campaign for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2028-29 term. Elections for that term will be held in June next year, when India and Tajikistan will contest the lone seat in the Asia-Pacific Group. India last served on the Council in 2021-22, its eighth term, and has maintained that reform would border on “failure” if expansion is limited only to non-permanent seats because that would not fundamentally change the decision-making power of the five permanent members. The Uniting for Consensus group, which includes Canada, Pakistan, Trkiye and Italy, has called for increasing seats only in the non-permanent category and has proposed a 27-member Council without adding new permanent members.

With the negotiations now pushed to the next UN General Assembly session, India has backed the rollover but made clear that another round without movement would only deepen frustration over the long-pending issue of Security Council reform.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends