UNSC needs expansion to reflect global realities: report

Amid India's push for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, a high-level panel report today called for expanding its membership in line with "present day realities" while emphasising that global institutions were not adept at tackling existing challenges.
The Commission on Global Security, Justice and Governance in a report authored by Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and veteran diplomats, including ex-Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran, has issued proposals for UN reform .
The United Nations and other global institutions are not equipped to tackle today's global challenges, according to the report released today.
"World leaders must grapple with new ways to approach 21st century threats posed by climate change, conflict and cross-border economic shocks," said Albright, who co-chaired the commission with former Nigerian Foreign Minister and UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Dr Ibrahim A Gambari.

"A failure to adapt effectively risks prolonging and deepening these global crises," she said.
The 158-page report by the 14-member commission comes ahead of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations and September's gathering of world leaders to adopt new goals.

In the report, the commission proposes three specific ways to reform and strengthen the UN Security Council -- "increasing the legitimacy of the Council by expanding its membership in line with present day realities; instituting a formal consultative mechanism for periodic dialogues with civil society, business and local authority representatives, in recognition of their contributions to peacemaking and peacebuilding; and developing a culture of restraint in the use of the veto."

The report proposes creating a new voting mechanism, allowing permanent members of the Security Council the option of casting a dissenting vote that does not rise formally to the level of veto and thus does not block passage of a resolution.
India has been actively campaigning along with countries like Japan, Germany and Brazil to secure a permanent seat in the Security Council. Britain, China, France, Russia and the US constitute the P5 which have veto power in the UNSC.
The report, titled 'Confronting the Crisis of Global Governance', also calls for transforming the UN Peacebuilding Commission into a Peacebuilding Council.

Calling for strong action on climate change, the report said, "tackling the perennial global governance challenge of our time involves, first and foremost, facilitating new kinds of engagement between the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international regimes, subnational authorities, and civil society and business groups."
The Commission calls for harnessing private-sector innovation for climate mitigation and adaptation.