India Demands Sweeping UN Security Council Reform, Calls for Greater Global South Role

Addressing the Security Council’s annual open debate on working methods, Ambassador Yojna Patel, Charge d’Affaires at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said the Council’s credibility and legitimacy were under growing scrutiny amid its inability to intervene effectively in conflicts that have caused widespread human suffering.

Patel said the need for reform was “more pronounced and pressing than ever before”, pointing to the dramatic transformation of the international system since the Council was established in 1945. UN membership has increased roughly fourfold since then, she noted, arguing that the outcome of a conflict eight decades ago should not continue to determine the Council’s composition and functioning indefinitely.

India reiterated its longstanding demand for expansion of the Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories, with greater representation for the Global South. Patel said such reforms could be achieved through text-based negotiations backed by clear milestones and timelines.

On working methods, India stressed that procedural reforms could not be separated from the wider debate over Security Council reform. Issues including membership categories, regional representation and the veto, it said, needed to be addressed as part of a comprehensive package rather than in isolation.

India also questioned the continued provisional status of the Council’s Rules of Procedure more than 80 years after the UN’s creation. Patel argued that the provisional framework should not be treated as an obstacle to expanding membership and itself required updating.

A major focus of India’s intervention was the role of elected, non-permanent Council members. Patel said all Council members should have equal access to relevant documents, including historical records, rather than allowing such access to remain concentrated among a select group.

India also called for greater participation by the wider UN membership in key decisions, including the selection of the Secretary-General. On peacekeeping, Patel said troop- and police-contributing countries should have a stronger role in decisions affecting mandates and resources because they are direct stakeholders in UN operations.

New Delhi further urged the Council to resolve delays in appointing chairs of its subsidiary bodies. India called for the current year’s appointments to be finalised urgently and proposed amendments to Note 507 establishing a definitive deadline for future appointments.

Patel also pressed for greater transparency in the Council’s listing and delisting procedures, warning against decisions driven by narrow political interests. She said terrorist designations and removals should be based on objective criteria and supporting documentation.

In closing, India called for stronger coordination between the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, describing the Assembly as the most universal and democratic organ of the UN. It argued that mechanisms such as consideration of the Council’s annual report by the General Assembly should become substantive avenues for institutional accountability rather than procedural exercises.

India’s intervention placed working-method reforms within a broader push to reshape the Security Council itself, with greater representation, transparency and participation presented as essential to making the body more effective and credible.