Biden administration official backs reform of UN in response to Musk’s comments on permanent UNSC seat for India

PTI, Apr 18, 2024, 3:45 PM IST

The US supports much-needed reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, to make it reflective of the 21st-century world, a senior Biden administration official has said, amidst growing calls for inclusion of India as the permanent member of the powerful organ of the world body.

State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel’s remarks came as he responded to a question about billionaire tech magnate Elon Musk’s assertion that there is no meaning in having the UN without India’s permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

He said President Joe Biden has spoken about this (the need for reforms) before in his remarks to the UN General Assembly.

”We certainly support reforms to the UN institution, including the Security Council, to make it reflective of the 21st-century world that we live in. I don’t have any specifics to offer on what those steps are, but certainly, we recognise that there is a need for reform,” Patel said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Musk advocated for India’s inclusion in the United Nations Security Council.

Musk had said that the current structure of the UN does not adequately represent the world’s most populous nations.

“At some point, there needs to be a revision of the UN bodies,” he had said.

”The problem is that those with excess power don’t want to give it up. India not having a permanent seat on the Security Council, despite being the most populous country on Earth, is absurd,” Musk, 52, had said.

Musk is expected to visit India later this month and is likely to announce the company’s investment plans in the country.

India has been at the forefront of years-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member at the UN high table, which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st Century.

Currently, the UNSC has five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. Only a permanent member has the power to veto any substantive resolution.

Last month, India presented a detailed model on behalf of the G4 nations of Brazil, Germany, Japan and itself for Security Council reform. The G4 model proposes that the Security Council’s membership increase from the current 15 to 25-26, by adding by adding six permanent and four or five non-permanent members.