Permanent Mission of India
New York
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United Nations Security Council Open Debate on “Leadership for Peace”

Statement by Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, Permanent Representative
15 December 2025

Madam President,

India would like to congratulate Slovenia for assuming the Council’s Presidency and thank them for convening today’s Open Debate. I also thank His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, the former UN Secretary General, for his insightful briefing, as also the external briefer for her remarks.

The theme of today’s Open Debate – Leadership for Peace – and the guiding questions are particularly pertinent in the current context. The establishment of the United Nations was rooted in the desire of member states to achieve sustainable peace. Consequently, maintenance of international peace and security became its central pillar, and the United Nations Security Council was primarily entrusted with this onerous task. Inability of the Council to purposefully intervene in today’s raging conflicts in different regions has deeply disappointed our citizens, who question UN’s legitimacy, efficacy, credibility, and relevance. The next Secretary General would, therefore, assume charge at a critical juncture for this Organization.

In this backdrop, India would like to make the following points:

First, the primary responsibility for maintenance of international peace and security rests with the Council, and its membership, especially the permanent members who have been continuously represented over the past eight decades in the Council. When their approaches were focused on global public goods, the chances of peace prevailing have brightened; when their approaches focused on narrower national interests, chances of peace have dimmed. The quality and focus of the leadership displayed by members of the Council thus represents the most important aspect impinging on maintenance of international peace and security.

Second, structural and systemic elements in the eight-decade-old architecture of the Council act as retardants in efforts to maintain international peace and security. The current Security Council configuration is largely frozen in time. As Secretary General Guterres noted and I quote: “We can’t create a future fit for our grandchildren with systems built for our grandparents.” Reforming the Security Council to make it fit-for-purpose to tackle contemporary challenges is an urgent global imperative. The Inter Governmental Negotiations framework launched for Council reform which has largely remained barren and bereft of productive outcomes, must move towards time-bound text-based negotiations at the earliest, to enhance representation from under-represented and unrepresented geographies in tune with today’s realities, in both the permanent and elected categories of membership.

Third, Leadership for Peace should be the guiding mantra for the ongoing UN80 reforms initiative to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and relevance of the UN and multilateral system. This is not a one-shot process but a continuing effort that would pass on to the new Secretary General who would be called upon not only to address present challenges but also to reinvigorate multilateralism.

Fourth, the new Secretary General must embody the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of humanity, who are from developing countries of the Global South. These aspirations largely cover the development spectrum and pertain to ensuring the basic minimum of living standards, and cover areas such as financing for development, climate equity and justice, achieving SDGs, overseas development assistance etc.

Fifth, Leadership by definition must be inclusive for it to be representative, legitimate, and effective. Appointments of senior UN leadership must follow a transparent and objective process rather than a division-of-spoils approach. No post should become the exclusive and continuing preserve of some member states.

Sixth, India takes note of the recent efforts by the large majority of member states to bring in greater transparency and predictability in the election process of the UN Secretary General, as also evidenced in the negotiations on UN General Assembly Resolution 79/327.

Madam President,

Before I conclude, I refer to the statement made by the representative of Pakistan today. India would like to reiterate that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. They were, are, and will always remain so. Pakistan’s unwarranted reference to Jammu & Kashmir in today’s open debate attests to its obsessive focus on harming India and its people. A serving non-permanent Security Council Member that chooses to further this obsession in all meetings and platforms of the UN in pursuit of its divisive agenda cannot be expected to fulfill its designated responsibilities and obligations.

India had entered into the Indus Waters Treaty, 65 years ago, in good faith, in a spirit of good will and friendship. Throughout these six and a half decades, Pakistan has violated the spirit of the Treaty by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India. In the last four decades, tens of thousands of Indian lives have been lost in Pakistan sponsored terror attacks, the most recent of which was the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, which involved religion-based targeted killings of 26 innocent civilians by Pakistan sponsored terrorists. It is in this backdrop that India has finally announced that the Treaty will be held in abeyance until Pakistan, which is a global epi-centre of terror, credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border and all other forms of terrorism.

Pakistan of course has a unique way of respecting the will of its people – by jailing a Prime Minister, by banning the ruling political party and by letting its armed forces engineer a constitutional coup through the 27^th amendment and giving life-time immunity to its Chief of Defence Forces.

Let me be clear - India will counter Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in all its forms and manifestations with all its might.

Madam President,

In closing, with abiding faith in multilateralism, India reiterates that we stand ready to contribute towards working for peace, security and prosperity for all.

I thank you, Madam President,

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