UNSC reforms shouldn't be held hostage by those opposing change: India, G-4

 

As the General Assembly rolled over on Monday the deadlocked IGN process to the next session that starts later this month, India's Deputy Permanent Representative Nagaraj Naidu issued the warning.

India, along with Brazil, Germany and Japan, has served an ultimatum that the supporters of Security Council reforms will be forced to look for other ways to move the process forward if the UN's Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) for reform continues to be "held hostage" by those opposing change.

As the General Assembly rolled over on Monday the deadlocked IGN process to the next session that starts later this month, India's Deputy Permanent Representative Nagaraj Naidu issued the warning in a letter to Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande written on behalf of the G-4, the group of four countries that mutually support each other for a permanent seat on a reformed Council.

He wrote, "There is a need to ensure that the IGN process is not held hostage, procedurally and substantially, by those who do not wish to bring about reform in the Security Council."

"If this happens, and there are indications that this is already happening, those who demand reforms will be forced to look for other ways to finally make progress, including potentially outside the IGN process," he added.

The letter did not identify the countries hiding behind the "smokescreen" of procedures in the IGN to hold the process hostage.

They are a group of 12 countries that call themselves Uniting for Consensus (UfC) led by Italy and includes Pakistan. The group's agenda is prevent adding permanent members to the Council.

For more than a decade the group has blocked the adoption of a negotiating text on which to base the discussions by insisting that there should be a consensus on reforms before the text can be adopted. Consequently, the IGN process has not been able to hold meaningful negotiations.