A push for reform: On UN reforms

Context:  Volkan Bozkir, the Turkish diplomat and politician who is the incoming president of the UNGA, has voiced concern that the structure of the 15-member Security Council ought to be more democratic and representative.

Reasons for demanding reforms in the Security Council

• Misuse of veto power: Permanent members use it as a blunt weapon to shore up their geopolitical interests, regardless of the disastrous consequences for the victims of armed conflict. 
• Unilateral decision making by permanent five: Push for reforms gained ground due to the unilateral declaration of war by the United States and the United Kingdom, against Iraq, in 2003. 

• Changed political and economic architecture: The political and economic architecture of the emerging global order that the allied powers shaped at the end of World War II have been altered since then.

Efforts to reform Council

• Efforts by Group of 4 (G4) countries: Which includes Brazil, Germany, India and Japan advocates for a permanent seat for all of them.

• Efforts by General Assembly: 

• The General Assembly’s 122nd plenary meeting in 2008 decided to facilitate the reform process through the Inter-Governmental Negotiations framework (IGN)

Constraints to reforms

• Objections by Permanent members:  The U.S., Russia and China are opposed to serious reform of the Council and have deferred the decisions in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Reforms are just a part of the broader vision:  Reforms to the U.N. figured no more than as part of a broader vision in the declaration to commemorate the organisation’s 75th anniversary.

• U.N. remains unreflective of the current trajectory, especially in the strategic and economic arenas.

• Rise of Nationalism: The post­war order faces an existential threat to its stability from the revival of nationalism across the globe.

Conclusion: All countries must have the voice to influence policy since we are currently facing humanity’s biggest problems, which include global warming and the pandemic.