UNSC reform: India seeks equal veto rights and wider negotiations

UNSC reform should address veto rights together with the broader structure of the Security Council, India’s permanent representative Parvathaneni Harish told the United Nations, according to reports published on October 27. He called for a comprehensive negotiation rather than separate treatment of individual issues.

Harish argued that the power to block decisions brings substantial responsibility. He said it should be used cautiously when international peace and security are at stake and should not serve short-term political calculations.

The Security Council has 15 members, with the veto currently reserved for its five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

India links veto debate to representation

India said decisions about limiting the veto were connected to membership categories, regional representation, the Council’s size and its working methods. Its envoy called for movement across all five areas through negotiations based on a written text.

During the UNSC reform intervention, Harish said equal rights and responsibilities should apply to permanent members. He argued that creating another class of permanent membership with different veto arrangements would make an already difficult debate more complicated.

He also criticised the uneven use of the power. Citing the UN’s record, he said vetoes had been cast 331 times on roughly 200 resolutions and that only three permanent members accounted for most recent vetoes or threats to use them.

Two permanent members had not exercised the power for more than three and a half decades, he said. Such disparities, he argued, had damaged the Council’s credibility.

The envoy referred to the 2022 initiative requiring a General Assembly debate after each veto, but said subsequent use of the power had not matched hopes for greater accountability. He also reaffirmed India’s alignment with the Common Africa Position in the reform discussion.

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