India Demands Text-Based Negotiations for UNSC Reforms

India's UN representative, Parvathaneni Harish, urged for text-based negotiations on Security Council reforms, criticizing the Elements Paper for not reflecting the strong support for expanding permanent membership. Harish emphasized the need for written text negotiations, highlighting the clear classification of permanent members in the UN Charter.

India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Parvathaneni Harish, has called for text-based negotiations on the reforms of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Speaking at a meeting under the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) framework on Monday, Harish criticized the co-chairs' Elements Paper for failing to accurately depict the widespread support among member states for expanding the Council's permanent membership category.

Harish emphasized that the IGN process should mirror other UN negotiations by relying on written texts. He pointed out that the Elements Paper's suggestion for further discussion on the concept of "permanency" was unnecessary, as the UN Charter already outlines a clear distinction between permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council under Article 23.

The Indian envoy also raised concerns about the inaccurate reflection of support for regional representation, particularly African representation. Harish stressed that the Elements Paper downplays the majority's support for expanding the Security Council's permanent membership, contradicting numerous national statements and groups' stances that favor such expansion.