WHAT IS UNSC?

 

The security council was established under UN charter in 1945 . It is one of the six principal organs of United Nations . The other 5 organs of UN are

1. The General assembly (UNGA).
2. The Trusteeship Council.
3. The Economic and Social council.
4. The International Court of Justice
5. The secretariat.

It's primary responsibility is to work to maintain international peace and security. The council is headquartered at New York.

Members

The council has 15 members ,5 permanent members and 10 non permanent members , elected for 2 years;

The five permanent members are;

1. USA
2. Russia
3. France
4. UK
5. China

Each year General Assembly elects five non permanent members ( out of 10 in total) , for a two year term. The 10 non permanent sets are distributed  on a  regional basis. India is for the eighth time has entered the UNSC last year as non permanent member and will be in the council for 2 years (2021-2022). The council's presidency is a capacity that rotates every month among it's 15 members.

Voting powers

• Each member of the security council has one vote. Decisions of the security council on matters are made by an affirmative vote of 9 members including concurring votes of permanent members. A no vote from one of  permanent members blocks the passage of resolution.
• Any member of UN which is not a member of UNSC may participate but with out a vote, in the discussion of any question brought before the security council whenever  the latter considers that the interests of that member are specially affected.

India in UNSC

• India took active part in the formulation of the UDHR in 1947-48  and raised its voice against racial discrimination in South Africa.
• India has payed its part in formulating decisions on several issues such as admitting former colonies to the UN , addressing deadly conflicts in the Middle East and maintaining peace in Africa..
• It has contributed extensively to the UN , particularly for the maintenance of international peace and security.
• India has taken part in 43 peacekeeping missions with a total contribution exceeding 160,000 troops and a significant number of police personnel.
• India's population, territorial size , GDP , economic potential, Civilizational legacy, cultural diversity ,political system and past and ongoing contributions to UN activities make India's demand for a permanent seat in UNSC completely rational.

Issues

• Absence of records and texts of meetings.
• Powerplay in UNSC.
• Divisions among p5.
• An underrepresentation in organization.

Way Forward 

• The imbalance in power relationships among P5 and the rest of the world needs to be corrected urgently.
• Also it is needed to reform the Security Council through an expansion in permanent and non permanent seats to enable the UN organ to better deal with the "ever - complex and evolving challenges" to the maintenance of international peace and security .
• India as the current one  of non permanent members of the UNSC can start by drafting a resolution containing a comprehensive set of proposals for reforming the UNSC.
• It can further approach other like- minded countries (like the G4; India, Japan Germany and Brazil) and keep growing its circle of support till sufficient numbers of countries are together to reach out to the whole UNGA to propose the resolution with a realistic chance of winning the vote.