Permanent Mission of India to the UN

New York

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77^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

First meeting of the Plenary on the Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council

[26 January 2023]

India Statement

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          Let me begin by thanking Co-Chairs for organizing today’s meeting.

2. In your letter of 5 December 2022, you have called on Member States to share views on the IGN process and the cluster “Regional Representation”.

3. My delegation aligns with the statement made by PR of Saint Vincent and Grenadines representing L69 Group and PR of Germany on behalf of G-4. In my national capacity, I would like to make following points.

4. We have been meeting in this informal format for 15 years now, with nothing concrete to show for our efforts. We do not even have a zero-draft consolidating the attributed positions of interested stakeholders, to base our discussions on. We do not have a single factual account or record of the IGN proceedings. This design flaw in the format of the IGN is what is keeping us going around in circles rather than moving forward.

5. We strongly believe that our approach to the IGN process needs a comprehensive rehaul. IGN need to become, before it is too late, a regular negotiation process within the General Assembly, centered on the discussion of a single text with clearly attributed positions, and with higher levels of transparency and documentation, thereby making it a more inclusive process.

6. Our cluster-wise ‘statements’ here can only move us forward if they lead to an update of the document that we have on the table. Ideally, we would like to see the commencement of text-based negotiations at the earliest.

7. On our part, we will be engaging directly with the relevant section of the Co-Chairs Revised Elements Paper of 16 May 2022 and provide our specific comments and positions on the text as G-4.

8. We believe that there is no need to have a lengthy introduction to the document. A factual account of the IGN meetings, or a record of discussions, should be presented as a separate document for record keeping and not as part of the text.

9. It is important to include attributions of positions in all parts of the document, as in any normal UN process. The fact that some sections of the membership do not want to have their positions clearly stated, should not preclude the right of others to have their views duly reflected and attributed. Attribution of positions contributes to the promotion of convergences.

10. The division between “convergence” and “divergence” throughout the document should eventually be eliminated. The language used in all items grouped under “divergence” already makes it clear that those topics require further discussion. Further, inclusion of attributions, would also make it clear that different positions are on the table on a particular issue.

11. On the specific issue of ‘regional representation’, it is clear that outdated systems that were designed to deal with the challenges of the past, cannot be expected to address the multitude of challenges of today’s dynamic and interdependent world.

12. The Security Council must be made more representative of developing countries, including from Africa. A truly representative Security Council is the most pressing need of the hour. Else, there is a real danger of the United Nations being superseded by other plurilateral and multilateral groupings which are more representative, more transparent and more democratic and, therefore, more effective. The Security Council can deliver effective solutions only if it gives a voice to the voiceless rather than zealously guarding the status quo of the mighty.

13. Our leaders have repeatedly tasked us with delivering early and comprehensive reform of the Security Council – a task, which over years of text-less, fruitless deliberations in the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN), remains not only unfulfilled, but blocked by those perpetuating the outdated status quo. At the General Debate of the 77^th General Assembly, more than 70 Heads of State and Government and high-level governmental representatives underlined that reforming the Security Council should be one of our priorities during this session.

14. We once again urge all delegations and groups to directly engage in a pro-active manner, which enables us to begin the task of coming up with a living, member-owned document that includes all the positions, and can serve as a robust basis for future deliberations. Let us strive to make IGN process relevant and credible.

15. We look forward to our interactions and deeper exchange of views on these issues. I thank you.

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