Swaraj urges SCO members to back UN Security Council reforms

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Wednesday urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to support efforts for the comprehensive reforms of the UN Security Council to make it more representative and effective.

India has been calling for the reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC) along with Brazil, Germany and Japan for long, emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member. The G4 nations support each other's bids for permanent seats on the UNSC.

Addressing the meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers here in the Kyrgyz capital, Swaraj said India firmly believes in the efficacy of multilateralism and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Swaraj also said India was committed to the goal of combating climate change and welcomes the agreement reached at the Katowice Climate Change Conference in Poland in 2018.

"India firmly believes in the efficacy of multilateralism and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. It is imperative to have comprehensive reforms of the United Nations and its Security Council to make it more representative and effective," Swaraj said.

"The SCO must support the member countries' candidatures for the non-permanent membership of the UNSC for the years 2021-2022 and 2027-2028," she said.

India is committed to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement on Combating Climate Change, Swaraj said