United Nations: Frustrated by the slow pace of the UN Security Council's reform process, India has called on the member states to seek new ways to engage to achieve credible progress on the issue by building on the past negotiations and not supplanting the past.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, speaking on Tuesday at the informal meeting of the plenary on Intergovernmental Negotiations on increase in Security Council membership, lamented that the length of the Security Council reform process is unparalleled and in terms of inertia too, it has no peer. Akbaruddin stressed that as much time as is necessary must be provided to continue the discussions on the reform process and member states should not be constrained by any arbitrary timelines.
"Only if we show mutual respect and promote better understanding by providing time and space for deliberations, can we lend credibility to the process we are involved in. We do hope that the discussions this year will help in moving ahead in our common quest for reform," he said.
He also stressed that an insurmountable 'No' should not be a response to every suggestion and there is need to look at creative pathways to forge ahead in the reform process. "However, if despite our best efforts, credible progress evades us once again, then we should not shy away from reviewing how we engage on this very important issue," he said.