UNGA president pitches for reforms in UN Security Council; says 'world has changed'

India’s dreams of a permanent place in the United Nations Security Council may not just remain on paper. The reform of the United Nations, especially of the UNSC, is now more of a possibility asserted Csaba Korosi, the United Nations General Assembly president, on Monday.

This stress on reform—and the way ahead—was the highlight of his speech at the Indian Council for World Affairs on a rather wet morning in the national capital. It came up at the press conference he held later in the day. “The logical composition of (the Security Council) is based in 1945-46,’’ he said. “The world has changed and the balance of power has changed. It is not reflected in the Security Council,’’ he said. He added that this summer, one-third of the leaders of member states had talked about the need for the reform of the UN.

“It has been quite obvious (the need to reform the UN) for the past 20 years,’’ he said. The negotiation process does not have any text or any deadline. There were also two problems. “One was brought up with the Ukraine war,’’ he said. While not referring to Russia, he said what if a member of the Security Council attacked its neighbour. “The Security Council has not been able to address this issue. It is an absurd situation and what describes as the dysfunction of the Security Council.’’

He also underlined that the member states were “divided’’. Some prefer that the dysfunction continues, he said, making it clear that the P5 countries were not keen to change the status quo.

The Hungarian diplomat arrived in India at a time when the country had assumed the presidency of the G20. It is his first bilateral visit to any country since he assumed the presidency of the UNGA. “It would help reinforce India's abiding commitment to multilateralism, including through its ongoing G20 Presidency, and how it would address these global challenges meaningfully for a better future for the Global South," a statement by the ministry of external affairs on the visit of the president read.

While Korosi was frank about the need to reform the UN, when asked how he saw the G20 format to resolve issues said, “The G20 was created in the time of crisis….we are in multiple crises. It is up to the member state to use the platform as a consultative platform, only cooperation can save us.’’ He, however, pointed out that the G20 could not replace the UNSC in “legal’’ terms. His suggestion for India was “Go for action.’’