India’s Failed Attempt at the UNSC

On 10 Dec 2022, the newspaper headline read, “India stands isolated at UN Security Council (UNSC) during its Presidency.” The reason, New Delhi did not vote in favor of Resolution 2664 establishing a ‘humanitarian carve out’ to the asset freeze measures imposed by the UN sanctions regime. The resolution would facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations toward the delivery of “basic human needs.” India has continued to misuse the platform of the UNSC for domestic political agendas throughout its two-year membership. On the contrary, India has intensified its efforts to acquire membership in the most exclusive club of international affairs; the UNSC.

At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries, which are elected for a two-year term by the UNGA. India, through the UNSC platform, wants to play a bigger role at the global level. However, when India’s merit is assessed impartially, it becomes apparent that the country is nowhere in a position to even seek membership. In fact, India needs to assess its foreign policy behavior, particularly its human rights record at home and its reluctance to call out Russian military operations in Ukraine.

Apparently, India wants global prestige as a Hindu state ideology – Akhand Bharat, and, therefore, wants to be a member of the UNSC permanent category to have a greater say in the evolving global order. However, owing to a lack of consensus among the P5 members of the UNSC, India so far remains excluded. So far, India has the backing of four members of the UNSC, i.e., the U.S., Russia, the UK, and France. However, China’s principled stance will continue to be the biggest hurdle.

The then U.S. President Barack Obama, on his first state visit to India in 2015, declared in front of the Indian parliament that he looked forward to the day India would become a permanent member of a reformed UNSC. It was the first time that an American president had publicly expressed such support for this long-standing Indian quest. U.S. policy shift towards India has broader strategic consequences. For US policymakers, India is the only power that is equipped enough to engage China at a regional level.

With the presence of like-minded, ‘India’ at UNSC high tables, the U.S. would feel comfortable countering the China-Russia block. However, even with UNSC membership India will never be able to fulfill the American dream. Here are a few reasons, for instance, India is playing a double game. It is an unreliable partner of the West, especially, the United States. While it continues to project itself as a counterweight to China, its bilateral trade with China reached $125 billion in 2021.

The much-touted world’s so-called largest democracy is ruled by an extremist political party – BJP whose leader, PM Modi, was once banned from entering the U.S. for his role as an enabler in the Muslim massacre in Gujrat in 2002. Under the Modi govt, India has faced various setbacks at the international level including a setback to its democratic outlook. On minorities-related issues, India has been a country of concern for quite a long now.

Secondly, how a country can become a UNSC member state when its actions are in direct contradiction with the very foundation of that body? India has repeatedly violated the UNSC resolution concerning the Kashmir dispute. On the other hand, India through its group at the UN G-4 comprising Brazil, India, Germany, and Japan, has long been lobbying for expansion in the UNSC (G-4 members support each other’s bids for permanent seats at UNSC).

Uniting for Consensus (UFC) at the UN is a diplomatic move that is developed in opposition to the possible expansion of permanent seats in the UNSC. The group consists of Italy, Pakistan, Columbia, Turkey, Spain, EU, Malta, Argentina, Mexico, South Korea, and San Marino. Under UFC, Pakistan’s diplomacy was successful in persuading UNGA to adopt a resolution which has been adopted by the assembly concerning the question of equitable representation on an increase in the membership of the UNSC and other matters related to it, and the commitment of the heads of the state and governments to instill new life in the discussions on reforms of the UNSC.

Pakistan has strongly opposed the Indian intention for a permanent seat in UNSC. There are valid reasons behind Pakistan’s apprehensions. First and foremost, India, unlike other UNSC members, is an aggressor and continues to occupy the disputed territory of Kashmir. Despite repeated UN resolutions, India has refused to accept international obligations and rule of law.

Pakistan has been rightly convincing the world body that India does not qualify to be a UNSC member because of its refusal to accept resolutions coming out of the same body, its worst human rights violations, and the continuous decline in democratic norms. Pakistan is right to warn the international community that India’s membership of the UNSC will be a major blow to the body’s credibility.

Due to the changing geostrategic realities, India has become the West’s trustable ally and for that matter, the West is ready to go to any length to accommodate India. However, such accommodations in past have badly affected the credibility of various regimes such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), where India was given a waiver. Likewise, UNSC’s expansion without realizing the sensitivities would put global peace and harmony at stake.

There was a time when India was known as a secular and democratic state, but it has been hijacked by Hindutva extremists and is no longer a secular or democratic country. It has emerged as an extremist Hindu state, and democracy has deteriorated during the hawkish leadership of PM Modi. The global community needs to realize that India’s journey towards a global role is not guided by a principled approach but purely by a self-serving goal.

Ahsan Ali Zahid is a senior research officer at the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad.