Envoy P Harish says veto reform cannot be separated from wider Security Council overhaul, notes 331 vetoes cast so far
United Nations, October 27: India has renewed its call for comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council. It said any new permanent members must enjoy the same rights as the existing five, including the veto.
Speaking at the UN, India’s Permanent Representative Parvathaneni Harish said fairness and justice require all permanent members to have the same rights and responsibilities. Creating a new category of permanent members, with or without the veto, would only further complicate an already difficult debate, he said.
Harish said the veto, now held only by the US, UK, France, Russia and China, carries a heavy responsibility. It must be used with great restraint, especially on matters of international peace and security, and should never become an instrument of narrow political expediency.
He said the veto’s track record had damaged the Council’s credibility. It has been used 331 times on about 200 resolutions, mostly by three of the five permanent members. Two members have not used it in more than 35 years. The 2022 Veto Initiative, which requires a General Assembly debate whenever a veto is cast, was meant to improve accountability, but the number of vetoes since then suggests little has changed, he said.
Harish argued that limiting the veto in isolation would not work. Reform must address all five areas together: membership categories, regional representation, size, working methods and the veto, through text-based negotiations. India also reaffirmed its support for the Common African Position.
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