France has officially backed India’s entry into the permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with veto power. The backing is part of France’s general backing of UNSC enlargement, including backing the membership of African nations, Brazil, Germany, and Japan as new permanent members.
Now the UNSC consists of five permanent and veto-wielding members: France, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, and the United States. During a recent session on fair representation at the UNSC, French officials emphasized that enlarging the council would make it more effective and representative, which is crucial for international security.
Jay Dharmadhikari, French Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, stated, “We prefer to grant two permanent seats to African countries, as well as to Brazil, India, Germany, and Japan, to represent their geographical blocks. France believes it reasonable that future permanent members should claim all the prerogatives of such membership, including the right of veto.”
India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan, collectively known as the ‘G4’ group of nations, are seriously seeking reforms at the UNSC, particularly with regard to expanding permanent membership with veto power. The UNSC has in recent years been faulted for failing to keep up with realities of a new world order, remaining anchored in post-World War II realities. Apart from that, the council has been regarded as being paralyzed due to disagreements among Western nations and the China-Russia axis, which have exercised their veto powers time and again.
Dharmadhikari noted the need to control the exercise of veto, noting that it has reached “unprecedented” levels, hindering the UNSC from acting in crises in Syria, Gaza, and Sudan.
France’s move comes in the wake of the G4’s denial of a recent UNSC expansion proposal on grounds of religious affiliation. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, restated that invoking religious parameters would make already complex negotiations for the reform of the UNSC, which historically does not depend on regional representations, even more so.
This view resonates with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remarks, who advocated for adding a Muslim majority state to the UNSC’s permanent members so that the Muslim world can be represented more in global governance. Erdogan highlighted that it is not only beneficial but necessary for justice in international governance to have an Islamic nation with veto power.
