At the recent Global Technology Summit held by the Washington D.C.-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in collaboration with the Indian foreign ministry, Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar made a case for reformed multilateralism and said that the “narrow” leadership of the United Nations (UN) cast doubts over its credibility and effectiveness.
Voicing his concerns, Jaishankar said that “The UN is the brand name of multilateralism,” and that the problem in the contemporary world is that of “narrow representation at the leadership levels” of the organization. He added that this predicament “is in many ways a challenge to its credibility and its effectiveness”. He further went on to say that “You do need reformed multilateralism. You need to make it representative. You refresh your phone regularly. Someone needs to press that refresh button on the UN”.
These remarks were directed at the all-powerful UN Security Council (UNSC) where the majority of the power within the multilateral organization is concentrated. The UNSC is comprised of five permanent members: China, United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), France, and Russia. Additionally, a 10-member committee is appointed every two years on a non-permanent basis, however, unlike the permanent members, the non-permanent members cannot exercise the veto power. This system has not changed with the changing tides of international political dynamics since the UN was first formed in 1945. Countries including India, Brazil, Germany and Japan have made repeated addresses to be added to an updated UNSC, to no avail. India will be part of non-permanent UNSC from early 2021 to the end of 2022.
Jaishankar also highlighted that Africa, despite being a continent of 50 plus countries, has no representation in the elite group. He said that even though India had vested interests in the UNSC, he urged members to consider the case of Africa. “If 50 plus nations don't have a voice just think in terms of what is their sense of ownership of the workings of this organisation," the EAM said.
Jaishankar has been consistent in voicing his concerns regarding elitism in the UN. In October this year, at the book launch of “Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at Ring Side”, written by Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh, Jaishankar was vocal on the topic during a panel discussion. The EAM said that the UN would be less credible and relevant to the world “If we can continue the way we are and given the fact that there is less and less common ground, especially between the P5, the permanent five powers”. Comparing this conversation to Groundhog Day, Jaishankar further added that in the past 15 years, the UN reform process conversation happens every year with no action, and the process has to be restarted all over again.
At yesterday’s event, the minister also talked about the necessity of data security in a post COVID world. “The sense of national security has widened to capture many other domains of our existence such as COVID-19 has made health security a very central part of national security. I would argue that pre-COVID and certainly post-COVID, data security is central to national security,” the Minister said.
Indian EAM S. Jaishankar Makes Strong Case for Reformed United Nations
At an event by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Indian EAM S. Jaishankar said that narrow representation in UN leadership diminishes the organisation's credibility.
December 16, 2020
SOURCE: TWITTER