Permanent Mission of India
New York
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UNSC Open Debate on Working Methods

Statement by Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, Permanent Representative
14 November 2025

Mr. President,

I would like to congratulate Sierra Leone for their Presidency of the Council and place on record our sincere appreciation for organizing the Annual Open Debate on Working Methods. India also commends Japan for its active role in updating Note 507 last year in its capacity as chair of the Security Council Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions. I thank the briefers for their remarks.

2. Security Council is central in the UN architecture, as the principal organ that is primarily tasked with the responsibility of maintenance of international peace and security. As a UN organ whose sphere of functions covers a range of areas, but membership limited to only 15 members, working methods of the Security Council are critical to its credibility, efficacy, efficiency and transparency. This gains particular salience in a world beset with multiple crises and facing numerous challenges.

3. Despite the standing of the Security Council in the UN, and even as we mark the 80^th anniversary of UN’s establishment, its Rules of Procedure continue to be provisional. Though these Rules remain the cornerstone guiding the day-to-day functioning of the Council, their provisional status needs to change. The status of the Rules of Procedure must be commensurate with the stature of the United Nations Security Council.

4. As a member state that served multiple times on the Council, I would like to make the following points:

First, selection of Chairs of subsidiary bodies and pen-holderships needs to be carried out in a more transparent, objective and time bound manner.

Chairs and pen-holderships are privileges that come with major responsibilities. Discussions in the Council on distribution of Chairs and pen-holderships must prevent Council members with vested interests from being accorded these privileges. Obvious and outright conflicts of interest can have no place in the Council.

Second, there must be greater transparency in the functioning of the subsidiary organs. A case in point is the manner in which listing requests are rejected. Unlike de-listing decisions, these are done in a rather obscure manner, with member states that are not on the Council not being privy to details.

Third, there must be greater coordination of the Council with other UN organs, particularly UNGA. A useful tool in this regard is the discussion of the annual United Nations Security Council report in GA. However, this must not be treated as a mere procedural exercise. The report must be more than a record of the Council proceedings and meetings during the year. India reiterates its call to make the annual United Nations Security Council report analytical in nature.

Fourth, peacekeeping is an important United Nations Security Council domain. As the largest cumulative troop contributor, India stresses on the need for factoring in the inputs of the TCCs and PCCs for better implementation of peacekeeping mandates. This must be a consultative exercise. In this regard, I would like to make two specific recommendations:

A. Christmas tree mandates must be avoided, and peacekeeping missions must revert to having plain vanilla mandates; and

B. Any expansion of peacekeeping mandates should be matched by proportionate increase in resources.

Fifth, continuation of mandates that have outlived their utility for narrow political interests of certain states must not be allowed. This continued existence in a resource constrained scenario is a drain on the UN and member states. At a time when member states are striving for greater streamlining and better rationalization under the UN80 framework, I urge the Council to undertake necessary measures on this front to bring about sunset clauses. Matters on which the Council is seized are also to be reviewed from time to time on the basis of their relevance and utility.

Sixth, India would like to emphasize that addressing historical injustices to Africa in the Security Council, given the representation of three out of the ten non-permanent members from the region, is primarily through Africa’s inclusion in the permanent category. Mere expansion of the non-permanent category would not only not result in meaningful reform but also fail to address historical injustices to Africa.

5. Finally, working methods is one of the clusters in the IGN on Council reforms. Any improvements to this cluster must not be done in a piecemeal manner. These are to be part of a comprehensive effort towards making the Council reflective of the current geopolitical realities. The overall endeavour needs to be on redesigning the eight-decade old architecture to make the United Nations Security Council fit-for-purpose, equipped to meet the ongoing and future challenges and discharge its functions purposefully. For this, there must be expansion in both the permanent and non- permanent categories with adequate representation for under-represented and non-represented geographies, through text-based negotiations in a time bound manner. I reiterate that India stands fully ready to contribute to this end.

I thank you, Mr. President.