India Says UNSC Expansion Without New Permanent Members Risks Losing Credibility

India has warned that efforts to reform the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) would fall short of meaningful change if they focus solely on expanding the body’s non-permanent membership. Speaking at an Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) meeting on Security Council reforms on Monday, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, said any reform package that leaves the permanent membership structure untouched would be inadequate.

Addressing member states during discussions on the ‘Elements Paper’—a document outlining areas of convergence and divergence among countries on Security Council reform—Parvathaneni stressed that expanding only the non-permanent category would not alter the concentration of decision-making power among the Council’s five permanent members. He argued that such an approach would amount to reform in name rather than substance.

“UNSC reform would be grossly inadequate, bordering on failure, if expansion is limited only to the non-permanent category as it would fundamentally not change the decision-making power structure of the P5,” Parvathaneni said. He added that member states and negotiating groups have waited for years for “real and meaningful reforms” that address long-standing concerns over representation and equity within the Council.

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India has consistently advocated for an expansion of both permanent and non-permanent seats, maintaining that the Security Council’s current structure no longer reflects contemporary geopolitical realities. According to New Delhi, increasing the number of permanent members would help create a more balanced and representative institution while reducing disparities in global decision-making.

Parvathaneni said India’s push for expanding the permanent category is aimed at bringing a greater sense of balance and fairness to the Security Council. He noted that meaningful reform should address the concentration of influence currently held by the Council’s five veto-wielding permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

India has been among the leading voices calling for comprehensive UNSC reform for decades. The country argues that the 15-member body, established in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II, is not fully equipped to address the challenges of the 21st century. New Delhi has also repeatedly asserted that its growing global role, economic influence and contributions to international peacekeeping make it a strong candidate for permanent membership of the Security Council.

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