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Follow UsAs the United Nations (UN) approaches its 80th anniversary next year, the Group of Four (G4) countries—India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan—are advocating for permanent membership and urgent reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC). On September 26, 2024, they emphasized the need for reform as other plurilateral groups, including L69 and C-10, joined their call.
The G4 meeting took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the Foreign Minister level on September 23, where they assessed progress on proposed reforms.
In a joint statement issued on September 26, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his G4 colleagues acknowledged the “significant challenges” facing the multilateral system centered around the UN. They expressed support for the urgent call for reform made at the UN’s ‘Summit of the Future’ earlier that week.
The G4 Ministers reiterated the necessity of increasing both permanent and non-permanent UNSC membership to enhance the involvement of developing countries and those “significantly contributing to international peace and security.” They highlighted the need for improved representation from regions like Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Ministers expressed strong concern over the lack of substantial progress in the intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) and stressed the need for text-based negotiations to commence without delay. The L69 group, of which India is a member, convened on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, holding a joint meeting with the C-10 group of ten African nations.
“Encouraged by the first-ever Joint Ministerial Meeting of L69 and C-10 groupings of nations,” Mr. Jaishankar tweeted.
They emphasized that transformative reform of the Security Council should include enhanced representation for the Global South. The Ministers asserted that developing countries play an “indispensable” role in maintaining the relevance and effectiveness of the Security Council. They noted that further delays in comprehensive reform jeopardize the UN’s “credibility and legitimacy.”