India’s UNSC Membership: All You Need To Know

The United Nations Security Council was established on October 24, 1945, post World War II. The primary responsibility of the UNSC is the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 members, and each member has one vote. Currently, the five permanent members are the UK, China, the US, Russia and France. Besides them, other countries like India get a temporary seat at UNSC but have so far not been given a permanent seat despite having all the requisites. Even though India is currently the least controversial option for a seat at the UNSC, it doesn’t seem like India will be getting a seat anytime soon. Why is this happening?

There are three major reasons why India still doesn’t have a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council. Firstly, it is worth noting that China’s stance on India’s permanent seat has always been ambiguous. This is all due to the strained Indo-China relationship, and the fact that China has actively been supporting Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. It is also known that China opposes Japan’s bid for the UNSC seat, which is supported by India. Therefore, China is unlikely to support India’s permanent seat as long as India supports Japan.

India is also unlikely to find support from the US for a seat on the council. Although former US President Barack Obama once supported India’s bid for a permanent seat, there has been no progress on this matter ever since. It is known that the official American policy has been to oppose India’s permanent membership in the Security Council because India is not a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and possesses nuclear weapons. 

The structure of the Security Council also plays a role in India’s permanent seat. For any country to get a permanent seat in the UNSC, amendments will have to be made to the UN Charter, and this requires the vote of two-thirds of general members and the support of five permanent members. This seems difficult to achieve, as the current permanent members do not seem to be wanting to disrupt the balance of power by giving India, or any other country a permanent seat. Even if India is included as a permanent member, it is likely to open the floodgates and legitimize the bids of other countries like Japan, Germany, Brazil and Ukraine.

Recently, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar even revealed that some of the present UNSC members are not keen on India becoming a permanent member of the Security Council. He mentioned that India is now the most populated country and one of the top-growing economies in the world, and it deserves a seat at the  Security Council. Even though India makes a huge difference globally, UNSC is known to be one of the slowest-moving international bodies in the world. It is conservative and reluctant to make changes.