UNSC Reform: India Demands Equal Veto Power for All Permanent Members

New York: India has called for equal veto power for all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, warning that creating a new category of permanent members without veto rights would turn them into “second-class members” and allow the dominance of the existing five permanent members to continue.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Harish Parvathaneni, said the number of both permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council should be increased.

China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are the five current permanent members. Parvathaneni pointed out that although the number of non-permanent members was increased from six to 10 in 1965, the number of permanent members remained at five, further reinforcing the existing imbalance of power.

India also called for the veto to be exercised responsibly on matters concerning international peace and security, rather than being used to serve narrow political interests. Parvathaneni said the practice of allowing a single member to block decisions in the name of consensus also needed to be reformed.

India maintains that the Security Council, established in 1945, does not reflect present-day geopolitical realities. It called for reform discussions to begin with clear timelines and said comprehensive changes were necessary to ensure the Council’s credibility and effectiveness.