An Indian-origin peer of the House of Lords Lord Rami Ranger said India needs a place in UN Security Council to bring more stability to the world. During an event, he emphasised that peace is essential for progress, and fighting has to become a thing of the past, and if one wants to progress, one has to be peace-loving. He noted that conflicts in one region affect the entire world.

India's UNSC Bid

India has been fighting for decades for permanent membership in the Security Council, the main body of the United Nations. But, it is always limited to temporary membership of two years. From the early days of independence, despite trying hard, every time we are faced with disappointment. The 'Summit of the Future' conclave was held at the UNO 79th General Assembly in New York from September 23 to 28 this year. In this, the veto power countries Britain, France and America fully supported India's permanent membership status in the Security Council. On the other hand, Brazil, Japan and Germany are also competing fiercely for permanent membership. New countries are not allowed permanent membership in the Security Council without amending the UN Charter. So far India has been elected 8 times as a two-year temporary member. Finally elected in 2021.

UN Established for Peace

After the First World War (1914-1918), the Western countries were divided into two blocs. Until then there was no international organization to maintain peace, harmony and integrity among nations. As a result, with the aim of preventing wars in the future and world peace, then American President Woodrow Wilson established an organization called Nana Jati Samiti (The League of Nations (LoN) for the first time in 1920.

Due to the political and economic depressions that arose between the countries even after the First World War, the Second World War came within a period of 20 years. It lasted from 1939-1945. The multinational coalition has completely failed in controlling this war. As an alternative, the United Nations was formed as a new platform on October 24, 1945, on the foundations of the old organization. The UN continues to play a vital role.

Security Council is a Key Organ

When the United Nations was formed, there were only 51 member states. Currently it has reached 193. After decades of civil war and carnage in the African country of Sudan, newly emerged South Sudan finally joined in 2017. Except for Taiwan, Vatican City, Tango, and Nauru, all the sovereign countries of the world are members of the United Nations. The UNO consists of six main organs (divisions), namely the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the Secretariat, and the Trusteeship Council. The Trusteeship Council was a sixth main organ, but it suspended operations in 1994.

Key among these is the Security Council. In which Britain, France, Russia, America and China are the only permanent member countries. In addition to these, 10 other member states are temporarily elected every two years. The current UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was elected for the first time in 2017. He is currently serving his second term.

Main objectives of UN are –

1. Promoting good relations among member countries internationally and prevent wars.

2. Peaceful settlement of disputes between member countries.

3. Fostering friendships between member countries.

4. Nuclear disarmament.

One of the main objectives of the UN is to ensure that nations respect each other's integrity. However, if there is a disturbance of peace and security between any two member countries, an atmosphere of war is created, only the five countries of the Security Council have veto (irrevocable) power.

India Remain Neutral over Russia-Ukraine War Voting

Even if all the member states vote, even if none of the permanent member states are willing, the election will not be valid. India remained neutral in the vote on Russia-Ukraine war. There were 11 member countries in the Security Council. Currently it has reached 15. They are elected by all member states in the General Assembly. The Security Council imposes sanctions on countries that do not follow UN rules. If necessary, military action will also be taken.

Chine Preventing India from Getting VETO power

In this way, the five permanent member countries like America, Britain, Russia, France and China are playing a role. All these five countries have to agree to give veto power status to India. From time to time, China is making serious efforts to prevent India from getting permanent status. It is raising the issue of increasing the number of temporary member states in the Security Council from 15 to 25 instead of giving permanent status to India.

International experts occasionally criticize that the United Nations continues to fail in preventing crises between many countries around the world, and that only five permanent member states control it. It is alleged that the veto powers are a major hindrance and prevent the countries from imposing sanctions on the transgressors.

Russia-Ukraine War Become Challenge

Resolving disputes between countries has also become a challenge for the UNO. There is no lack of opinion that the United Nations has seriously failed in issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the civil wars between West Asian countries, the tensions between North Korea and South Korea, the border disputes between India and Pakistan, and the expansion of China's imperial ambitions. If India gets the status of a permanent member state, it will be able to block the actions of the other permanent countries internationally, and that is why the criticism is being heard from the international political experts that these countries are always blocking it.

British PM, France President Supports India

The support of international heads of state and celebrities on veto power for India is increasing. Recently, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has veto power, said, 'I support giving permanent membership status to Brazil, India, Japan and Germany'. French President Emmanuel Macron has said that his country supports India, Germany, Japan and Brazil to have permanent status in the UN Security Council.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also stated that the US supports the inclusion of India, Japan and Germany as permanent members of the Security Council. Apart from them, Tesla founder, social media platform X (formerly Twitter) head Elon Musk, Israeli venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, former British Prime Minister David Cameron have also expressed their views. With their support, it seems that the way has been paved for India to get veto power. Even if there is an expansion in the Security Council this time...if India does not get permanent membership status...it will have to wait for another 25 years. There are plenty of chances that India's relentless fight for decades will bear fruit soon.