It is not in the interest of global peace to postpone reforms in the United Nations to keep the global order democratic

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) once again seems to be failing to fulfill its role during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. There have been many such international incidents in the past years that have raised questions about the relevance of this global institution.

The failure of the Security Council in this global crisis continues to undermine the concept of 'world government', where the superpowers themselves are challenging the rules-based international order. It is also flawed in the present circumstances that the victorious countries of World War 77 years ago have special powers like a veto in the Security Council, which is less used and misused more.

Even today, the United Nations has not been able to come out of the geopolitical narrow-mindedness of the post-world war. Security Council 'cold-war syndrome' even in the 21st century appears to be suffering from This is the reason that for the last several decades, there is a demand for a change in the structure of the United Nations, but due to the mutual conflict between China and America, the reform of the Security Council has been pending for years.

In the past years, it is the veto superpowers that have caused the most damage to the rules-based international system. China, on the one hand, talks about running the system in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations on the issue of territorial integrity and sovereignty in Ukraine, and on the other does not recognize the arbitration tribunal set up under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Maritime. . China's expansionist policy in the South China Sea has created conditions for war in the Indo-Pacific region.

These global concerns have also been exacerbated by the conflict between the permanent members of the Security Council over issues such as terrorism and human rights abuses. It is known that in the case of terrorist Masood Azhar, the four permanent members of the Security Council were in support of declaring him a global terrorist, but China was opposed to this decision and imposed a veto.

However, Masood Azhar was later declared a global terrorist by China. China and Pakistan continue to persecute their minority citizens. Among the victims of repression in China are Tibetans, Christians, Uighur Muslims, and people fighting for civil rights in Hong Kong. On the other hand, Hindus and Sikhs are being persecuted continuously in Pakistan too. The issue of human rights violations in Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan provinces has now become a matter of international concern.

The persecution of minorities taking place in Pakistan has been termed as an 'epidemic' according to Human Rights Watch. Even in such a situation, the election of China and Pakistan to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations and the silence of the Security Council are worrying for the future of the United Nations.

Clearly, the United Nations needs reform at many levels. The non-expansion of its Security Council according to the increasing number of member states is affecting its broader objectives. In the early years of the United Nations, its membership was 113, which has increased to 193 today, but even today the Security Council has only five permanent members, due to which the world order has become unbalanced.

On the one hand, where two countries of Europe have got a place in the Security Council, neither a major country like India has got a place, which has contributed the most in the peace operations of the United Nations, nor any country in Africa is a permanent member of the Security Council. is a member. Whereas more than 50 percent of the work of the United Nations is related to African countries alone.

In the current global order, India, Japan, Germany, Brazil, The role of countries like South Africa and Australia is important. It is necessary that these countries should be made permanent members of the Security Council. India is in a major leadership role on global issues like terrorism, regional peace, climate change, green energy, and economic cooperation. At the same time, while actively participating in multilateralism, it seeks to maintain the world order under a multipolar leadership.

Significantly, the UNSC, which was established to protect world peace and democratic values, has succumbed to the vested interests of its five permanent members. The special power of five countries in the name of 'veto' in the 193-member body raises questions on the democratic and inclusive character of the United Nations. Therefore, the decisive system like 'veto' should be reformed, otherwise, it should be abolished.

Whether it is Russia's unilateral attack on Ukraine or Taliban occupation in Afghanistan or China's persistent challenge to the sovereignty of its neighbors or the arbitrariness of the superpowers on the threat posed by climate change, the United Nations seems helpless on all these issues. Somewhere dangerous.

Questions are being raised not only on the functioning of the General Assembly, but also on its main organs, the Security Council, the World Health Organization, and the Human Rights Council. It is not in the interest of global peace to postpone reforms in these institutions for a long time to keep the global order just and democratic.