Does UNSC need to be reformed?

Background :-

• ‘United Nations’ (UN), an intergovernmental organization was formed in 1945 to deal with the international challenges in the post world war period and to establish peace in the world.
• UN has six principal organs including ‘General Assembly’ and ‘Security Council’.
• United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has 193 countries as members. And all member nations have equal representation.
• United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has 15 members, out of which Five nations are permanent members, namely France, UK, USA, Russia & China. It has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms.
• UNSC takes all the major decisions.
• The permanent member nations of UNSC has veto power.

In Favor :-

• The present form of UNSC is undemocratic.
• When the UN was formed, these 5 countries are the only powerful ones in the world. But now the world has changed, and the power doesn’t solely lie with the 5 permanent members of the UNSC.
• It’s not representing the total world.
• There is no regional representation in the present UNSC. There is no single country from the southern hemisphere of the world in the permanent part of the UNSC.
• Lack of multi-culturalism in the UNSC.
• UNSC is failing to resolve global challenges. It is unable to handle the recent Syrian crisis too.
• Most of the General Assembly member nations support restructuring Security Council.
• The present permanent members of the Security Council has rivalry among them.So, leaving all the decisions regarding global challenges to them is risky.
• Developing countries like India are playing larger role in the international economy & Politics, but still they don’t have a stake in taking crucial decisions on global affairs.
• There is no single country from the entire African continent in the UNSC.

What has been done till now :-

• G4 nations was formed by India, Japan, Brazil & Germany. G4 countries are supporting each other to get permanent seats in the UNSC.
• UK & France supported G4 nations, while USA, Russia & China opposed inclusion of these countries in UNSC’s permanent seats.
•  In the 69th session of General Assembly, 2015 UNGA adopted the resolution for Security council reforms. But Russia, China & USA opposed any major reforms in the security council.

Conclusion :- 

The world is increasingly embracing democracy. In this progressive world, continuing the outdated version of UNSC is regressive. United Nations Security Council indeed needs reforms. It should be made representative and democratic. Otherwise it may become sidelined by the emerging powers. The formation of new democratic organization by the developing nations cannot be ruled out.

Afterwords :- Do you think UNSC has to be reformed? Express your opinion in the comment section below.

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