Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), strongly advocated the principles of democracy and equitable representation in the efforts to restructure the UN Security Council Inter-Governmental Negotiations to reform the Security Council in New York. The suggestions came upon the topic of inclusion of the G-4 countries, which include India, Japan, Brazil and Germany, which argue for a permanent member status in the UNSC, something Pakistan is strictly against.

Reform of the UNSC has been a hot topic for many years, particularly in the matters of increased membership, the question of the veto held by the five permanent members and regional representation. For many years, the G-4 have been attempting to gather support to be confirmed as permanent members, but have faced opposition from the United from Consensus (Ufc) countries, headed by Italy, who call such inclusion undemocratic.

It is imperative of Pakistan to stand up against inclusion of any other country for permanent member since it leads to the inclusion of India. India being a permanent member, and having the veto vote could make the UN a futile body for Pakistan. Inclusion of a country requires it to be a strong democracy with democratic and secular values, which India in the last few years has clearly shown it doesn’t have as of yet.

Even if not for India, the inclusion is plain undemocratic. The solution to fixing the highly oligarchic structure of the UNSC is not to just add a few more permanent members, it is by slowly undoing the system in place which favours a few elite countries, and that can only be done by increasing representation of all countries. Pakistan’s idea is to include more temporary states in the UNSC and for a longer time. Representation will not be achieved by adding in India or Japan and assuming the neighbours will be represented through the giants, since more often than not, their neighbours are at conflict with them.

Moreover, we have seen how permanent states in the UNSC have halted the peace process, and made negotiations difficult; the veto vote was the reason why the cold war stretched on for decades. We have also seen how countries have exploited their permanent member status to get away with materialistic wars, and one cannot defeat the system by adding to the system. We still believe UN to be a helpful progressive organisation, and will not let India hijack it.