‘Composition out of date’: Bhutan, Portugal back India’s UN Security Council bid

India’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) received a shot in the arm after Bhutan and Portugal extended their support during the UN General Assembly session. The endorsement comes a day after the United States, France and Britain supported India’s UNSC candidacy.
The United States, UK, China, France and Russia are the five permanent members of the UNSC and have veto powers on any resolution or decision.
Over the years, India has demanded on various global forums that it be made a permanent member of the powerful UN body. However, China, which has veto power in the UNSC, has been stonewalling India’s efforts.
Underlining the need for comprehensive reform of the UN body, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said the Security Council was now a “relic of the past”. Tobgay said India, with its significant economic growth and leadership of the Global South, deserved a permanent seat.
The Global South refers to countries having poor economic development and plagued by increasing poverty and hunger than their Northern Hemisphere counterparts.
The Bhutanese PM also expressed gratitude to India for its “support and friendship” to the land-locked country on its journey to graduating from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) category.
“The United Nations must evolve to meet the realities of today’s world. The Security Council, as it stands, is a relic of the past. We need a council that reflects the current geopolitical, economic landscape and social realities,” Tobgay said in his address.
Stressing that the UN Security Council’s “composition is out of date”, Portuguese Prime Minister Lu­s Montenegro said reforms were needed in the body to ensure greater representativity and effectiveness.
“We uphold a reform process for the UN Security Council that will make it more representative, agile, and functional. Its composition is out of date and the absence of some regions hinders its functioning,” Montenegro said.
He said reforms must also include expanding “representativity” while vouching for countries such as Brazil and India as permanent members of the UNSC. The Portuguese leader underlined that the veto power could no longer be used in a disproportionate manner by powers engaged in conflicts.