"Another wasted opportunity:" India over delay in UN Security Council reforms

NEW YORK: Terming the UN General Assembly’s decision to roll over the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on Security Council reform to its next session as “yet another wasted opportunity,” India on Thursday (local time) said that the state of affairs is clearly in the interest of those who seek a status quo to keep this process frozen in repetitive cycles.

India’s permanent representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly said that the rollover decision of the intergovernmental negotiations simply cannot be reduced to a mindless technical exercise.

The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a draft oral decision to continue the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly that will commence in September. The rollover decision marked the end of the IGN for the current 77th session.

“We have been consistent in our position that the rollover decision of the intergovernmental negotiations simply cannot be reduced to a mindless technical exercise… We were therefore encouraged by your efforts to introduce in the decision a small reflection of this evolution based on your wide-ranging consultations and the recommendation of the Cochairs with regard to Webcasting and the beginning of a digital repository. I must say, though, that even with these so-called changes there has been no breakthrough whatsoever that may be described as progress,” Kamboj said.

“This state of affairs is clearly in the interest of those who seek a status quo to keep this process frozen in repetitive cycles. Thirdly, and finally, President, we see this technical rollover decision as yet another wasted opportunity to instil a breath of life into a process that has shown no signs of life or growth in over four decades,” she added.

Referring to the roll-over decision, Kamboj said that as the only formal General Assembly outcome that emerges from this process each year, it must also evolve and reflect the progress achieved during Member States’ deliberations during the year.

She asserted that as a responsible and constructive member of the United Nations, India will continue to engage in this process alongside the reform-minded partners and persist with the efforts to move from repetitive speeches to text-based negotiations.

“However, for those of us who truly wish to fulfil our leader’s commitments towards an early and comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council. Looking beyond the IGN looks increasingly to us as the only viable pathway to a future UN security council that would better reflect the world of today,” she added.

Meanwhile, in his remarks, Csaba Korosi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly, noted that for the first time in the history of these negotiations, the first segments of the IGN meetings are now webcast and a dedicated website on Security Council reform has been established as a repository for the IGN process.