UNSC divorced from reality, represents a bygone era: India

Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin further added that to regain "its legitimacy there is no option but for the Security Council to reform"

India has hit out at the UN Security Council over its current structure and methods of work, saying the 15-membered powerful world body is "divorced from reality" and represents a bygone era warranting reform.

"It is ironical that the Security Council is working towards the establishment of democracy and Rule of Law in various parts of the world when its own house is not in order," India's Ambassador to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said.

"The current structure and methods of work of the Security Council are divorced from reality and represent a bygone era," he told the UNSC yesterday.

Akbaruddin said that to regain "its legitimacy there is no option but for the Security Council to reform."

The terse remarks were made by Akbaruddin during an open debate 'Respect to the Principles and Purposes of the Charter of the United Nations as Key Element for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security' at the UN Security Council.

"We hope it does not require a cataclysmic crisis to foster this fundamental change. There has never been a greater need for reform of the Council which is a sine qua non for the optimal efficiency of the Council and would be the real form of tribute to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations," he said.

Akbaruddin said while terrorism remains a cardinal threat to the maintenance of international peace and security, the efforts of the United Nations and the Security Council in taking decisive action to combat terrorism leaves much to be desired.

It has been noticed that even brazen public violations of the sanctions regime by listed individuals and entities, far from attracting punitive measures, do not even elicit the mildest censure, Akbaruddin said.

"Yet, we the general membership of the UN are expected to comply with the decisions of the Council's Sanctions Committees decisions or lack thereof," he said.

Observing that the Council has taken the lead in referring to the purposes and principles of the Charter while attempting to maintain international peace and security, he said, however, its own actions have not always been in the spirit of the Charter.

The UNSC is composed of 15 members, five of them permanent and 10 non-permanent elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. The five permanent members include: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Addressing the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said for the millions living amidst war and extreme poverty, and for the countless others whose rights are violated or neglected in other ways, the ideals and values of the United Nations Charter remain elusive.

Bringing the promise of the Charter to the most vulnerable must continue to be the main goal, Ban said.