Hyderabad: It is 75 years since the United Nations Organization (UNO) has emerged as the representative of humanity to establish world peace on the ruins of World War-II. During the commemoration of the historical occasion, a prominently heard demand was - ‘reforms’.
Twenty-five years ago, during the Golden Jubilee celebrations, Freitas do Amaral who was elected as President of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly, raised the same issue. Five years ago, in the wake of the seventy years celebrations, the adoption of a resolution by 104 countries questioning the rationale of the ‘veto’ privilege only to the five permanent members of the Security Council had created a sensation.
Prime Minister Modi's observation of the UN that it faces a crisis of confidence and it cannot fight present-day challenges with outdated structures are true to letter and spirit. His analysis that in its long journey, even after crossing many milestones, the UN has not yet achieved its fundamental goal, underscores the need for urgent corrective action. The UN, which failed in its efforts to submit the draft proposals for the expansion of the Security Council at its Golden Jubilee meetings, is now calling for an end to the Cold War between the two economically strong nations. There cannot be a better proof of the failure of the UN in its efforts to achieve cooperation and a sense of fraternity among the member nations. The existence of the UN will no longer make sense unless it succeeds in democratising and universalising the Security Council to adapt to changed conditions.
The face of the world has changed in the last seven-and-a-half decades. Many quantitative changes have taken place since the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia, the "winners" of World War II, followed by China have been granted permanent membership of the Security Council. Today, Russia, Britain and France remain as symbols of the past glory. It is a well-known fact that the US, which ruled the UN for decades as per its whims and fancies, subsequent to the entry of Trump, has been putting a lot of pressure on the organisation. And, there is no competition to the record of misuse of Veto power by China. Although the US, the UK, France and Russia have expressed interest in granting permanent membership to India, China has been consistently opposing the move. China's only intention is to stop India and Japan rising in the UN as permanent members of the Security Council.
It is completely unreasonable for China to emerge as the sole permanent representative on the Security Council for Asia, Africa and Latin America. Demands for permanent membership of Brazil, India, Germany and Japan have long been neglected. French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the immediate creation of an amicable atmosphere between multilateral parties at a time when the COVID-19 crisis is dividing the world into various camps.
