Third World War Not beyond Realm of Possibility: UNGA President in Delhi

UNGA President Dennis Francis, who is on an official visit to India from January 22 to 26, speaks about the possibility of escalation and regionalisation of the conflict in the Red Sea and how the same has created a dangerous situation.

New Delhi:United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis on Wednesday said that the third world war is not beyond the realm of possibility citing the escalation of conflict in the Red Sea had triggered a major predicament.

In a press briefing here in the national capital, Francis said, "The possibility of escalation and regionalisation of the conflict in the Red Sea had created a dangerous situation. It would appear that third parties are facilitating this action being taken by the Houthis in the Red Sea".

He said that the last thing one wants is the regionalisation of the war. "You do not want that at the moment because escalation only breeds escalation," he added. Francis pointed out that the devastating capabilities of modern weapons would make such a conflict far worse than previous ones, magnifying the horrors of the disputes in the South China Sea and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Earlier in the day, the UNGA President and External Affairs Minister (EAM), Dr S Jaishankar held talks in New Delhi regarding the situation in Gaza and Ukraine. They also exchanged views on India's G20 Presidency and UN Security Council reforms.

In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar wrote, "So glad to welcome@un_pgaDennis Francis this afternoon in New Delhi. His positive sentiments for our G20 Presidency and Voice of Global South Summits were notable. They have strengthened multilateralism. Appreciated his position on need for urgency of reforms in international institutions, especially the UN Security Council. Agreed on the importance of accelerating Sustainable Development Goals and climate action. India will strongly support the Summit of the Future Process under his leadership to achieve equitable and ambitious outcomes."

During the press briefing following his talks with EAM, Francis further called for the need to reform the UNSC. He said, "Reform of the council is necessary. Geopolitical realities not reflected in UN Security Council. I don’t think that there is any member of the UN that would deny that. However, there are those who are less anxious to engage substantively in the process of reform because if you are in a privileged position, you are not necessarily in a hurry to lose the privilege."

The Security Council of the UN as it currently exists harks back to a period in world history that no longer exists. It was formed in the immediate post-1945 era. Since then, the world has changed radically. The geopolitical realities of today are not reflected in the council. And some claim that the council is in urgent need of democratization.

The fact of the matter is that the council has, in recent years been progressively unable to take the decisions necessary to assist and support the strengthening of international peace and security, largely for geopolitical reasons, he claimed. "The geopolitics, the global dynamics of the geopolitics gets imported into the council, and that results invariably in the use of the veto by one or the other party", Francis said.

Francis, who is on an official visit to New Delhi from January 22 to 26, arrived on Monday arrived in New Delhi and was received by the Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj. Earlier, he visited Jaipur and IS scheduled to visit Mumbai next. Francis, 67, has had a career spanning approximately 40 years in the diplomatic service of Trinidad and Tobago.

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