“The IBSA Foreign meeting attended by foreign ministers of all three members of the group adopted a joint statement on the Reform of the UN Security Council, as a common endeavour of the Global South. The Ministers emphasized the need for the international community to redouble efforts and bolster commitment to not only reform of the UN Security Council but also towards the expansion of its membership by including representation from emerging and developing countries.
The representation, in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, should be for achieving a representative, inclusive, equitable, responsive, and effective UN Security Council said the joint statement.
Highlighting that, while a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system remains a crucial international undertaking, on which there has been some progress, the minister reiterated that advancing the reform of the Security Council should remain an urgent and key priority.
The failure to reform the Security Council has serious implications for international peace and security. Significant and accelerated reform is critical to ensure that this organ is more representative, effective and responsive, and remains capable of delivering on the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, said the Joint statement.
Expressing dissatisfaction on the transparency and frustratingly slow pace of reforms in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations process, the three ministers insisted that the time has come to move towards a result-oriented process, with provision for substantive negotiations based on a single comprehensive text, in a formal setting.
The IBSA meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday was held virtually. The meeting was chaired by EAM Jaishakar and attended by his South African Counterpart Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor and Brazilian counterpart Fabio Marzano.
The Ministers also discussed various issues of global significance including peace, security, countering terrorism, climate change, sustainable development, multilateral trading system, disarmament, non-proliferation issues and South-South Cooperation.
Further, the Ministers shared their experience on COVID-19 pandemic situation and appreciated the work done by the IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger. Brazil and South Africa also congratulate India on its successful election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2021-2022.
Abhishek Jha
