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I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the External Affairs Minister of India.

Hon’ble Ministers, Excellencies,

Thank you all for joining us at today’s Open Debate of the Council on a topic of growing relevance. I particularly appreciate the presence of the UN Secretary General and the President of the 77th UN General Assembly. This is a reflection of the importance of the subject at hand.

2. Excellencies, we have convened here today for an honest conversation about the effectiveness of multilateral institutions created more than 75 years ago. The question before us is how best they can be reformed, particularly as the need to reform is less deniable with each passing year. This debate and its outcome will not only help determine what kind of United Nations we wish to see, but also what kind of global order that best reflects contemporary realities.

3. The need for a New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System or NORMS, as we titled it, flows from this widespread recognition. While the matter concerns the fullest constituency of member states, the Security Council too has an important stake in the consideration of this crucial question. Because, at the end of the day, it has direct implications for maintaining international peace and security. And it is in the fitness of things that such a discussion takes place as an open debate.

4. All of us are aware that the "Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council” has been on the UNGA agenda for well over three decades. While the debate on reforms has meandered aimlessly, the real world meanwhile has changed dramatically. We see that in terms of economic prosperity, technology capabilities, political influence and developmental progress. The broad dispersal of capabilities and responsibilities has been expressed for example, in the emergence of the G20. That realization is now steadily percolating through the wider membership of the UN. At the 77th UNGA, we were all witness to a growing sentiment in favor of reform. Our challenge is to translate that into concrete outcomes.

5. The call for change has been accelerated by growing stresses on international system that we have experienced in recent years. On the one hand, they have brought out the inequities and inadequacies of the way the world currently functions. On the other, they have also highlighted that a larger and deeper collaboration is necessary to find solutions. Let me give a few examples:

6. During the COVID pandemic, many vulnerable nations of the Global South got their first vaccines from beyond their traditional sources. Indeed, the diversification of the global production was itself a recognition of how much the old order had changed.

7. The knock-on effects of conflict situations have also underscored the necessity for a more broad-based global governance. Recent concerns over food, fertilizer and fuel security were not adequately articulated in the highest councils of decision making. Much of the world was therefore led to believe that their interests did not matter. We cannot let that happen again.

8. When it comes to climate action and climate justice, the state of affairs is no better. Instead of addressing the relevant issues in the appropriate forum, we have seen attempts at distraction and diversion. On the challenge of terrorism, even as the world is coming together with a more collective response, multilateral platforms are being misused to justify and protect perpetrators.

9. Each one of these examples makes a strong case why it should not be business as usual in the multilateral domain. We not only need to increase stake - holdership but also enhance the effectiveness and credibility of multilateralism in the eyes of the international community and in the eyes of global public opinion. That is the purpose of NORMS.

Excellencies,

10. If this is to happen, member states from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Small Island Developing States should have credible and continuing representation in the Security Council. Decisions about their future can no longer be taken without their participation. Equally important is to make working methods and processes of the global institutions, including this Council, more accountable, objective, and transparent. Failing to do so would only lend this Council to charges of politicization.

Excellencies,

11. Let us recall that at every milestone in multilateral diplomacy, the sentiment for reform has been expressed at the highest levels. This ranges from the Millennium Declaration to the World Summit of 2005 and the 75th Anniversary Declaration of the UN in 2020. This year too, the UNGA heard calls from more than 70 leaders, more than double the number of 2021. Why then are we failing to deliver on such a strong desire for change?

12. The answer lies in the nature of the IGN process itself. One, it is the only one in the United Nations that is conducted without any time frame. Two, it is also singular in being negotiated without any text. And three, there is no record keeping that allows progress to be recognized and carried forward. Not just that, there are actually suggestions that negotiations start only when consensus has been achieved! Surely, we cannot have a more extreme case of putting the cart before the horse.

13. Three decades since the formation of the Open-Ended Working Group on UNSC Reforms, we have nothing to show, for precisely these reasons. This is creating an intense sense of frustration among the wider membership. Attempts to propose piece meal changes will not be accepted by them as an alternative.

14. Excellencies, the UN Secretary General has rightly called for, I quote: "transforming this moment of crisis into a moment of multilateralism”, (unquote). But that moment must capture this sense of change, and not remain a prisoner of the past. After all, Our Common Agenda and the Summit of the Future will only deliver results, if they respond to the growing calls for reformed multilateralism. Reform is the need of the day. And I am confident that the Global South especially shares India’s determination to persevere. I thank you and now resume my duties as the Chair.