New York:

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday backed India’s bid for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), days after US President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron made a similar pitch. Addressing the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly’s seventy-ninth session in New York, Mr Starmer said the UNSC has to change to become a “more representative body”.

At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries which are elected for a two-year term by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The five permanent members are Russia, the UK, China, France, and the United States, which have the power to veto any substantive resolution.

“We want to see permanent African representation on the Council, Brazil, India, Japan, and Germany as permanent members, and more seats for elected members as well,” Mr Starmer said.

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Earlier on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron had also voiced strong support for India’s inclusion as a permanent member of the UNSC.

“As long as we have a Security Council that is blocked, I would say, reciprocally according to the interests of each party, we will have difficulty moving forward. So let’s just make these United Nations more effective, first by perhaps making them more representative. That is why France, and I repeat here, is in favor of the Security Council being expanded,” he told the UN General Assembly.

“Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil should be permanent members, as well as two countries that Africa will decide to represent it,” he added.

French President @EmmanuelMacron reiterates France’s call for a reform of the UN Security Council that would include a permanent seat for India during his address at #UNGA79 :@franceonu @francediplo_EN @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/0cIPxbWM0i

— French Embassy in India (@FranceinIndia) September 26, 2024

Last week, Joe Biden had also vouched for India as a permanent member of the UNSC.

During his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his home in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday, Mr Biden said that the US supports initiatives to reform global institutions to reflect India’s important voice, including permanent membership for New Delhi in a reformed UN Security Council.

I thank President Biden for hosting me at his residence in Greenville, Delaware. Our talks were extremely fruitful. We had the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues during the meeting. @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/WzWW3fudTn

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 21, 2024

India has argued for decades that it deserves to be a member of the UNSC. New Delhi has said that the 15-nation council founded in 1945 is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geo-political realities.

India last sat at the UN high table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22.

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At the ‘Summit of the Future’ on Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had also warned that the 15-nation UNSC, which he described as “outdated” and whose authority is eroding, will eventually lose all credibility unless its composition and working methods are reformed.