UNSC does not reflect today’s realities, is paralysed, says UNGA President

The UNSC which was “created back then” and given the primary responsibility of maintaining “international peace and security and preventing wars now is paralysed”, he told PTI ahead of his three-day visit to India on Sunday at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

It is Korosi’s first bilateral visit to any country since he assumed the UNGA presidency in September 2022, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, announcing his trip.

“The Security Council cannot discharge its basic function for a very simple reason. One of the permanent members of the Security Council attacked its neighbour. The Security Council should be the body to take action against the aggression. But because of the veto power, the Security Council cannot act,” Korosi said, in a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said this was a “very serious lesson learnt” for the future when talking about how to improve functioning of global organisations.

He said the issue of UNSC reform is both “burning” and “compelling” since the composition of the Security Council reflects “the outcome of the Second World War”. India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UNSC, saying it rightly deserved a place as a permanent member in the UN.

In the 77-year-old history of the UN, the composition of the Security Council has been altered only once — in 1963 when the General Assembly decided to expand the Council from 11 to 15 members, with the addition of four non-permanent seats.

“Since then, the world has changed. The geopolitical relations in the world altered, the economic responsibilities in the world in some countries, including in India, including some other very strongly developing countries, actually changed,” Korosi said. “So, the composition of the Security Council does not reflect today’s realities.”

During his trip to India, Korosi, who witnessed the “Beating the Retreat” ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Sunday, is expected to discuss with his Indian interlocutors ways to deal with various challenges facing the globe. He will also hold talks with Jaishankar on key multilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

Korosi will travel to Bengaluru on Tuesday, where his engagements include an interaction with scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and a field visit to an IISc-led water conservation project. He is also expected to visit development projects in and around Bengaluru, the MEA said. — With PTI Inputs