Context: India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, on Monday speaking in the UN General Assembly on 'Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council', said that nothing has moved for more than a decade in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations except hearing passionate statements on the need for reform. Criticising the absence of even a single negotiating text, Tirumurti said that the IGN has become like a "platform for debate in a University rather than a serious result-oriented process in the United Nations consisting of sovereign member states".  Meanwhile, addressing a virtual summit of the BRICS grouping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India's long-standing demand of reformed multilateralism. Calling the theme ‘Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’ not only relevant but also far sighted, PM Modi said questions are being raised on the credibility of the global institutions. He emphasised on reform of institutions like the UN, IMF, WTO and WHO to gain credibility. In this edition of the Big Picture we will analyse reforms in the UNSC & other impaired blocs.  

Challenges pertaining to UN

• Since its inception 75 years ago, the UN has remained the world’s most important multilateral forum.
• Today, the world faces global threats, both coventional (violent conflict, nuclear proliferation, and infectious disease) and non-conevtional (climate change, terrorism, and cyberwar, among others).
• However, the UN system is enmeshed in serious budgetary difficulties and subject to endless reforms. These lacunae can be reflected in the following:

United Nations General Assembly: Prominent Stage, Limited Powers

• Every year, the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) becomes the stage where presidents and prime ministers give speeches.
• The event offers plenty of star power, but critics contend that it is little more than a glorified gabfest.
• Also, UNGA has no control over veto power exercised by UNSC and it cannot take any decisive action against permanent members of UNSC.

UN reform is a long drawn process which encompasses five key issues: 

• categories of membership;
• the question of the veto held by the five permanent members;
• regional representation;
• the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods;and 
• the Security Council-General Assembly relationship. Inclusion of new members is part of this reform process. 

Any reform of the Security Council would require the agreement of at least two-thirds of UN member states, and that of all the permanent members of the UNSC enjoying the veto right.
Arguments for India’s permanent membership

• There are many arguments given for India’s permanent membership. First is, we are the biggest democracy in the world and in the current geo politics our contribution and influence cannot be ignored. So we should be part of the decision making body at the UN level.
• Second argument is, we are a growing economy and our influence has increased in the World economy and trade.
• Another factor that works against India's attempts to gain permanent membership on the Security Council is the state of its military. 
• India has always been one of the countries at the forefront of providing peacekeepers and their peacekeeping forces are often consider among some of the best, but it's a whole different ball game being a permanent member.

Some of the other arguments given are:

• It is part of an otherwise underrepresented region, with large unrepresented religions (Hinduism and Islam).
• It frequently serves as a non-permanent (rotational) member, and usually wins the votes of almost all member states in its bids for non-permanent positions.
• It has the backing of some major players (France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States), a number of European, Asian, and Latin American nations, and the African Union.
• It's relatively trusted by the Muslim states, and the Security Council could probably use someone other than China that can negotiate in the Middle East.

Benefits for India

• By having a veto power, one can enjoy enormous powers.
• This is clear from the recent case of Masood Azhar. Since 2009, India was trying to get him designated as a global terrorist. One veto power of China kept delaying it.
• India will be able to work better for its interests.
• There was a time when USSR actually started boycotting the UNSC and that was the time when US managed to get the resolution passed for the Korean War. From that time onwards USSR realized that it doesn’t make sense to boycott the UN. It needs to keep veto if at all resolution is against them.
• India’s presence as a permanent member will be an acknowledgment of its rise as a global power, ready to play a key role in the council’s objectives of international peace and security.
• India will be able to enjoy the 'prestige’ associated with the permanent membership of the council.

Importance of Multilateralism

• It is the process of organizing relations between groups of three or more states.
• It generally comprises certain qualitative elements or principles that shape the character of the arrangement or institution. These principles are:
• Indivisibility of interests among participants.
• Commitment to diffuse reciprocity, i.e. not an equivalence of obligations or concessions in any one exchange but a balance in an ongoing, potentially indefinite, series of exchanges with a group of partners instead of expectations of direct obligations or concessions by a particular member.
• System of dispute settlement intended to enforce a particular mode of behaviour.

How UN must be reformed?

• On the issue of UN reforms, US always held that UN is top heavy (heavily bureaucratized), therefore US proposes cost cutting reforms.
• Though it is very logical for international forums, like the UN, to use resources in an optimum way, however, developing countries like India propose reforms that seeks to democratize the UN, such as UNSC reforms, UN peacekeeping reforms.
• Also specialized agencies of the UN ( which are successful) all nations are treated equally, whereas in UNSC, the privileged countries (P5) have made UN defunct in maintaining peace and order. Therefore, veto powers of P5 and composition of UNSC must be made more representative of the current world order.
• Further, multilateralism can only work when member States seek a joint collaborative interest.
• For instance, every country collaborates on matters of tackling an epidemic or climate mitigation. However, peace and security by nature is very different, because these issues arise because of conflict between the countries.
• Though there is some success on security front in coming up to a common ground in tackling the terrorism, money laundering control, nuclear non-proliferation, chemical weapons convention.
• Therefore, unless countries find shared common interest, it would be very difficult for multilateralism to work.
• So, for conflict resolution, a new model of UN must be formulated, as current world order has changed from bipolar to unipolar to multi polar today.
• Bipolar: From post World War II, during the cold war World order was dominated by two superpowers i.e. US and USSR.
• Unipolar: After disintegration of USSR in 1991, the world was dominated by sole superpower i.e. US.
• Multipolar: International relations today are characterized by the power relationships of the United States, China, Russia, India and Europe.
• The new conflict resolution of UN can be decentralized at regional level like EU.
• In spite of all these financial issues, UN is important to sustain the idea of global rule based system and global governance. It is in the interest of all the countries to have a space where they can interact on a collegial basis rather than earlier Westphalian model of diplomacy (Bilateral relationships based on notion of power).
• World needs multilateralism, but not in the form as envisaged nearly 75 years ago, as today's world order is based on complex interdependence.
• Complex Interdependence: Due to trade, globalization etc, transnational connections and interdependencies between states and societies are increasing, while the use of military force and power balancing are decreasing but remain important.

Suggestion

• Besides expansion, issues like whether a country having a veto power should be allowed to lock a motion or not, should be taken into consideration. As far as India’s membership is considered, all five permanent members including China are more or less on board. India just needs to prepare itself for the permanent position in the council.
• The greatest challenge that the world faces today is in prediction of the imminent disasters that can be catastrophic. The Covid-19 pandemic is one such; others may include severe climate shocks.
• With growing environmental and health stress, such disastrous events are likely to occur more often. This can only be tackled through collective actions. Thus, there is a need for a new world order based on the ethos of multilateralism and shared responsibility. In this context, democratising the UN system can be a step in this direction.

Road Ahead

• We need to see restructuring of world order to allow developing cuntries and middle powers a seat at the high table so that they too can ensure that their voices are heard. Globalization, Terror, Covid-19 and climate change are four of the biggest issues facing the world today but multilateral blocks such as UN and others are finding it difficult to address them because they have an age old- approach which need to be change and be abreast with time, So they can address some of these major challenges that the world is facing. As far as the UN reforms are concerned let's not forget UNGA presidency is with Turkey at this point of time and Turkey is seem to be close to Pakistan and does not want to see any kind of reforms in the UN as this will be in India's interest. Reforms across the board are necessary and we have to continue to push for reforms at all levels and we need to watch out for China's aims, goal and ambitions as far as UN and other bodies and agencies are concerned as well.