India Calls for Equal Veto Rights for All Permanent Members in Reformed UNSC

India Demands Equal Veto Powers for All Permanent Members in Reformed UNSC

India has reiterated its demand for equal rights and responsibilities for all permanent members of a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC), stating that if the veto power is retained, it must be granted to every permanent member of an expanded Council.

Addressing the United Nations in New York, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said introducing a separate category of permanent membership with limited powers, whether with or without veto rights, would complicate the reform process and perpetuate existing inequalities.

“India’s position on the veto is principled and well known. It is aligned with the Common African Position. We reiterate that as long as a veto exists, it must be held by all permanent members of a reformed Council. Fairness and justice demand that all permanent members enjoy the same rights and responsibilities,” Harish said.

He cautioned that creating a new category of permanent members without equal authority would undermine efforts to make the Security Council more representative and equitable.

“A new category of permanent members, with or without the veto, would only further complicate a discussion that is already difficult, and would further entrench the very inequity we are seeking to correct,” he added.

INDIA PUSHES FOR COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY COUNCIL REFORMS
India stressed that meaningful UNSC reform must address the Council’s overall structure and decision-making mechanisms rather than focusing exclusively on the veto issue.

Harish called for text-based negotiations to begin at the earliest, supported by clearly defined timelines and milestones, to accelerate the long-pending reform process.

“Limiting the veto cannot be separated from the questions of categories of membership, regional representation, size and working methods. We need to move forward on all five clusters together,” he said.

Reiterating India’s position, the envoy said that addressing veto powers in isolation would not fundamentally alter the existing decision-making dynamics dominated by the five permanent members, collectively known as the P5.

India called for simultaneous discussions on five key areas: membership categories, regional representation, the size of the Council, its working methods and the use of the veto.

Harish also pointed to a fundamental contradiction between periodic elections and permanent membership, underscoring the need to reconsider how representation and authority are distributed within the Council.

‘VETO MUST NOT SERVE NARROW POLITICAL INTERESTS’
India also emphasised that the veto should be exercised responsibly and with restraint, particularly when decisions concern international peace and security.

Harish said the veto, currently available only to the five permanent members, carries significant responsibility and should not be used to advance narrow political interests.

“India has always maintained that the veto, which is right now a prerogative only of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, is a responsibility that must be exercised with great restraint, especially on matters bearing upon the maintenance of international peace and security. It should not be an instrument of narrow political expediency,” he said.

Highlighting the historical use of the veto, the Indian envoy said it had been exercised 331 times against around 200 resolutions during the United Nations’ existence.

He observed that two of the five permanent members had not exercised the veto for more than three and a half decades, while most vetoes or threats to use the power had come from three members of the P5.

Harish also referred to the 2022 Veto Initiative, established through UN General Assembly Resolution 76/262. The mechanism requires the General Assembly to convene a debate when a permanent member exercises its veto, creating an opportunity for broader scrutiny and accountability.

However, he noted that the continued use of the veto following the resolution’s adoption highlighted the limitations of existing accountability measures.

INDIA HIGHLIGHTS ‘DE FACTO VETO’ IN UNSC PROCESSES
India also raised concerns about informal consensus-based procedures within the Security Council, arguing that they can allow individual members to block proposals without formally casting a veto.

Harish described this practice as an “effective or de facto veto”, pointing to its influence over presidential statements, press statements and decisions taken by sanctions committees.

“The veto is not only what is cast in the open. There is also the ‘effective or de facto veto’ that every Council member, elected and non-elected, holds over presidential statements, press statements and the decisions of sanctions committees, where the unwritten rule of consensus allows a single member to hold or block a proposal, most often without explanation,” he said.

The remarks underscored India’s concern that informal decision-making practices can restrict the Council’s functioning even when no formal veto is recorded.

India maintained that comprehensive reform must therefore address both the composition of the Security Council and the procedures through which it reaches decisions.

New Delhi’s position remains that any expansion of permanent membership must be guided by equality in rights and responsibilities, including equal access to veto powers for all permanent members if the veto system continues.