India at the UN: Veto for All Permanent Members of a Reformed Security Council
On 26 October 2026, India spoke at a United Nations General Assembly meeting on the veto, held as part of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, made the statement.
India said that as long as the veto exists, it must be held by all permanent members of a reformed Security Council. New permanent members without a veto would become "second-class" members.
India rejected ideas such as a new category of long-term seats, with or without a veto. It said periodic elections and permanent membership are contradictory ideas. India also backed the Common African Position, which asks for equal rights, including the veto, for all permanent members of an expanded Council.
India urged great restraint in using the veto. It said the veto has been used 331 times on about 200 resolutions, and that General Assembly resolution 76/262 (2022), which forces a debate after every veto, has not changed this practice.
India also pointed to a hidden "de facto veto" inside the Council: a single member can block presidential statements, press statements and sanctions committee decisions, such as listing terrorists, often without giving reasons.
On the reform process, India said that after 17 cycles of IGN talks there is still no result. It called for text-based negotiations with clear timelines, and said using "consensus" as a rule works like a disguised veto, since the 2008 decision that started the IGN speaks of the widest possible political acceptance.
United Nations Security Council (UNSC): Composition, Powers, and the Veto
The UN Security Council is the most powerful body of the United Nations, with the main job of keeping international peace and security. It has 15 members: 5 permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, often called the P5) and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. Its decisions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter bind all UN members. The veto is the power of any one permanent member to stop a decision on an important (non-procedural) matter simply by voting "no".
India's statement is about who should get the veto in a bigger Council and how the veto is used today. Knowing the Article 27(3) voting rule, the P5 list and the difference between a veto and an abstention helps explain why India says new permanent seats without the veto would create unequal, "second-class" members.
UN Security Council Reform: G4, Uniting for Consensus and the IGN Process
Security Council reform means changing the Council so that it reflects today's world, not the world of 1945. The talks on this happen in the General Assembly through the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN). Countries are split into groups: the G4 (India, Brazil, Germany and Japan) want new permanent seats; the Uniting for Consensus group (led by Italy, and including Pakistan) opposes new permanent seats; and the African Union follows the Common African Position (the Ezulwini Consensus).
India's statement was made inside the IGN's discussion on the veto cluster. Its call for veto parity matches the Common African Position, and its complaint about "17 cycles" without results reflects the long-running deadlock between the G4 and the Uniting for Consensus group.
- Date of India's statement: 26 October 2026, UN General Assembly (IGN meeting on the veto)
- India's Permanent Representative to the UN: Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish
- India's position: as long as the veto exists, all permanent members of a reformed Council must hold it
- Vetoes cast so far (as cited by India): 331 times, on about 200 resolutions
- IGN cycles completed without result: 17; IGN started by decision 62/557 (2008)
- Veto initiative: GA resolution 76/262 (April 2022); debate within 10 working days of a veto
- UNSC: 15 members (5 permanent + 10 non-permanent for 2-year terms); expanded from 11 in 1965
- Article 27(3): 9 affirmative votes including concurring votes of all P5 members
- Article 108: Charter amendment needs two-thirds of the General Assembly plus ratification by two-thirds of members including all P5
- India is a candidate for a non-permanent seat for 2028–29; election due in June 2027