United Security Council

What is UNSC?

UN Security Council:

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the UN's six main organs, with responsibilities that include safeguarding international peace and security, recommending new UN members to the General Assembly and approving any UN Charter modifications. The UNSC consists of 15 members. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are permanent members of the Security Council. In the context of the IAS Exam, this article will go over the UNSC's activities and role in world affairs in greater detail.

Members of UNSC

• There are 15 members on the council: five permanent members and ten non-permanent members who are elected for two-year terms.
• The five permanent members are the United States, Russia, France, China, and the United Kingdom.
• The United Nations General Assembly elects non-permanent members.
• In 2022, the non-permanent members are:
• Estonia
• India
• Ireland
• Kenya
• Mexico
• Niger
• Norway
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Tunisia
• Vietnam
• India joined the UNSC as a non-permanent member for the eighth time last year (2021) and will serve on the council for two years, from 2021 to 2022.
• Every year, five members of the UNSC are replaced.

Voting Powers

• Each Security Council member gets one vote. The Security Council makes decisions based on an affirmative vote of nine members, including the permanent members' concurring votes.
• The five permanent members are granted 'great power unanimity,' often known as the veto power, which implies that if any of these countries veto a resolution, it will not pass even if it receives the required 9 votes.
• Any member of the United Nations who is not a member of the Security Council may participate in the discussion of any subject presented before the Security Council without voting if the latter believes that his or her interests are particularly affected.

Role of UNSC

• The UNSC's role in international collective security is defined by the UN Charter,
• which empowers the Security Council to investigate any situation that threatens international peace;
• advise procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute;
• and call on other member nations to completely or partially disrupt economic relations, as well as sea, air, postal, and radio communications.
• The Security Council can also deploy UN peacekeeping missions and impose sanctions on states in addition to maintaining peace.
• If necessary, the UNSC can cut diplomatic relations, impose financial restrictions and penalties, blockades, and even collective military action.

Key reforms taken in recent times:

India at UNSC

• In 1947-48, India actively participated in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and spoke out strongly against racial injustice in South Africa.
• It has made significant contributions to the United Nations, particularly in the area of international peace and security.
• India has participated in 43 UN peacekeeping deployments, contributing over 160,000 troops and a large number of police officers.
• For the two-year term 2021-22, India is chosen as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The United Nations General Assembly conducted the election, and India was elected with 184 votes out of a total of 193 votes.
• India is the only candidate for the year 2021-22 from the Asia- Pacific Region.
• This is India's eighth participation in the UN Security Council. India was a member from 1950 to 1951, 1967 to 1968, 1972 to 1973, 1977 to 1978, 1984 to 1985, 1991 to 1992, and 2011 to 2012.
• With its 5-S approach, India has pledged to promote world peace and security. The 5-S stands for

1. Samman – Respect
2. Samvad – Dialogue
3. Sahyog – Cooperation
4. Shanti – Peace
5. Samriddhi – Prosperity

• India has attempted but failed to gain admission to the United Nations Security Council's permanent membership list. Despite having a large population, a booming economy, and nuclear weapons, India is not a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
• India is a member of the G4 (India, Germany, Japan, and Brazil), which offers it an advantage in becoming one of the UNSC's permanent members.
• The claims made by India to ensure a seat of permanent membership in the UNSC is as follows:

1. India has the world's fastest-growing economy.
2. India was recently designated as a nuclear weapons state.
3. India has the world's second-biggest population and the world's largest liberal democracy.
4. In terms of purchasing power parity, the country is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions.

• Apart from obtaining the minimum requisite votes from other UN members, India would need to mend its ways with all UN countries in order to obtain the required votes.
• Despite the fact that it appears to be a simple procedure, it is complicated by the concerns of a few permanent members of the Security Council. China, in particular, has obstructed India's bid for permanent membership on the UN Security Council. China argues that awarding India a permanent seat on the UN Security Council will result in Indian interests taking precedence in subcontinent geopolitics, a sentiment shared by Pakistan.
• 

Conclusion: India advocates for democratic reforms in multilateral fora, starting with the UN system, to better respond to the needs of its membership, especially developing countries. The implementation of the Council’s decisions, and its very legitimacy, could be enhanced if the Council was reformed to be more representative, effective, efficient, accountable and transparent. Quote: “It’s clear that outdated systems that were created to deal with the challenges of the past cannot be expected to address the multitude of challenges of today’s dynamic and interdependent world. The Security Council can deliver effective solutions only if it gives a voice to the voiceless rather than zealously guarding the status quo of the mighty.” —Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Security Council Ambassador R Ravindra