Problems best solved outside UN Security Council: India

Solutions to global problems are best found outside the Security Council in forums like the General Assembly that are democratic, inclusive and transparent, India declared on Thursday.

Speaking at a Council debate on peace and security challenges of small island developing states (SIDS), Permanent Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji said that in dealing with their problems, "it is clear effective international cooperation on the concerns has been most viable outside the UN Security Council" where "a democratic, inclusive and transparent approach" can be taken.

Asserting that "we must look beyond the Security Council in redressing the concerns", Mukerji gave the example of international anti-piracy efforts. Although the Security Council tried address the piracy issue through two resolutions, "it has been through a much wider grouping, the 60-member Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia, that the security and economic concerns related to piracy have actually been addressed", he said.

This effective "democratic and transparent approach" could be the model for broader international cooperation to tackle piracy concerns of the SIDS under the framework of the General Assembly, he added.

Another example he cited was the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, which came about after decades of General Assembly negotiations, effectively deals with issues like illegal exploitation of natural resources and illicit fishing, he said.

India has long been critical of the functioning of the Security Council which is dominated by the five veto-wielding nations, China, Britain, France, Russia and the United States. Pushing for reforming and expanding it, New Delhi has faulted it for not being open or democratic and for not adequately consulting other members who are directly affected or who are helping deal with issues on which the Council mandates.

Mukerji said that India has been working with SIDS on development, infrastructure building and climate change adaptation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) for dialogue with the Pacific SIDS and forum will be meeting next month in India, he said.

Turning to a matter of dire urgency to the SIDS, Mukerji said that they "are at the frontline of the threat from climate change and sea level rise, the worst sufferers of a global problem they did not contribute to".

Therefore, he said, the international community should support their climate change adaptation initiatives and give them priority in distributions from the Green Climate Fund.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)