Post Covid World-Time to expand UNSC

Author: Mohinder Pal Singh

(Col Mohinder Pal Singh,PhD  is  a  defence  Analyst  working for EGROW Foundation. Views expressed  are  personal)

The world  is  passing  through  a  testing  time. As on today over nine lakhs people  are  affected with  over  40,000 deaths. The number seems to  be  going  out  of  control and  no  solution seems plausible in the near  future. The  worst  is  that  all the  5  permanent members  of  the UN Security Council(UNSC), who  steer  the  UN, are  badly  affected by the pandemic. The  irresponsible  handling  of  the  situation and  exporting  of the  virus  from  China  could  have  been  controlled. These callous  actions of China have been condemned by  all other  countries of  the  world except Pakistan.

Today more than 100 nations  have become victims of this pandemic without any  fault of  theirs. Billions of dollars of wealth of  the  people and  the  nations has  been brought to naught. The whole world is on the brink of  an economic  crisis.  Placed in such a situation, any  other country in the  world would  have faced  severe  punitive  actions from the UN and  other nations . As  China is itself a member of  the UNSC , no  action  against it  can be initiated by the UN as it  has  the  ‘veto’ power  to  thwart it. This  hegemony can no longer be accepted. The candidature of   5 permanent members  of  the  UNSC are  post  WW II does not represent the reality of the present world order. Going  by India’s  status  of being a  nuclear power, magnitude of the  economy , population, or  the stability of  the  nation , India’s  right to a  permanent  seat at the UNSC cannot  be disregarded. A country  having one seventh population of the world  with  stable  democratic setup, it  cannot  be  denied  its  rightful place  in the Council.

Post Covid 19, the world order is going to  see  a real Change. Europe  which  is  very severely hit will not  be able  to revive  their economies and would need time to recuperate.  It  will  be the  right time for India ,  under  the  dynamic leadership of PM Modi to  pitch for  its  rightful place for the  1.3 billion people. India with its economic  and strategic  prowess  is  already recognised  by the world. India’s candidature for  permanent  seat  at  UNSC  already has  a strong  support  from  USA , Russia  and  France. India is already  an important regional  power  in South Asia and having good  and  responsible  relations  with all  other countries  in the world. India has  made its  stand  very clear on issues  related to ‘No first use of  nuclear  weapons’  and  is  working  hand  in hand  with western countries in their fight against  global terrorism. There  is  no  doubt  that  once  nominated  as a  permanent member of UNSC India  will  be able to contribute meaningfully towards  UN’s quest for world  peace.