What Did US Prez’s UN Pick Say About Permanent Security Council Seat For India?

Mumbai: US President Joe Biden’s ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, elected on Wednesday, clearly did not support making the new administration a permanent member of the Security Council for India.

Three previous administrations, that of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, publicly stated that the United Nations supports India’s bid to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

However, Thomas-Greenfield, who told lawmakers before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has spent more than 35 years in foreign service before being nominated for the position, confirming the hearing for the post.

Do you think India, Germany, Japan, should be (permanent) members (of the United Nations Security Council), Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon asked during the confirmation hearing of the position of the US ambassador to the United Nations.

I think there has been some discussion about being a member of the Security Council and there are some strong arguments for this, he said.

But I also know that there are other people who disagree with their fields that they should be representative of their region. It is also an ongoing discussion, she said, in explicit reference to a coffee club or joint consent.

Compared to countries such as Italy, Pakistan, Mexico and Egypt, the coffee club has opposed permanent membership bids from India, Japan, Germany and Brazil. President Biden reiterated his promise of India’s support as a permanent member of the UN Security Council in his campaign policy document last year.

Recognizing India’s growing role on the world stage, the Obama-Biden administration formally announced America’s support for India’s membership of the UN Security Council, a policy of the Biden campaign on Indian-Americans last August Was documented.

Thomas-Greenfield, in response to another question, favoured reforms to the UN Security Council. India is currently its non-permanent member for a two-year term which began in January this year.

I think the board has a consensus that the Security Council needs to reform. As to what those reforms will be done and how they will be implemented, I think the decision remains to be made, but you know changing the number of members that went from 11 to 15 a few years ago to have more permanent members to push. They are making efforts to deliver, and those discussions are ongoing, she said.

She was responding to a question from Senator Merkley.

I wanted to start by asking about the Security Council itself. At the same time when China and Russian often take action in the Security Council. She said that the Security Council is representative of the geopolitical scenario with major powers like India, Germany, Japan, who are not included as permanent members.

How do you approach the question of the Security Council? How do you consider that perhaps it needs to be reformed? How do you believe it can be made more effective and functional, Merkley asked.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.