India and other G-4 countries have reaffirmed the need for an early reform of the UN Security Council, including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, to enhance the world body’s legitimacy, effectiveness, and representation.

The current composition of the Security Council does not reflect the changed global realities and a reform was essential to address today’s complex challenges, they said in a statement adopted at the end of their meeting in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

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The meeting, hosted by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, was attended by Brazil Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, German Foreign minister Heiko Maas, and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

All four countries have staked their individual claims for permanent seats on the Security Council and also support each other’s candidatures for the same. Their bid for permanent seats is opposed by Pakistan and Italy-led ‘Uniting for Consensus’ (UFC), which is nicknamed as ‘Coffee Club’.

The G-4 ministers reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and stressed that adapting the UN to the contemporary needs of the 21st century necessarily required reforming the Security Council. They emphasised the need to safeguard the legitimacy and credibility of this UN organ which deals with international peace and security.

The G4 countries reiterated their commitment to work to strengthen the functioning of the UN and the global multilateral order as well as their support for each other’s candidatures.

They reiterated their commitment to working with other countries to realise the shared vision of the overwhelming majority supporting the initiation of text-based negotiations in a democratic and transparent manner. In this regard, the ministers recalled the rules and procedures of the General Assembly and reiterated that the world body takes its decisions in a spirit of compromise and through the methods laid out in the UN Charter.

The Ministers emphasised that the G-4 would intensify dialogue with other member states, especially like-minded countries and groups, to achieve meaningful progress in the upcoming Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) session.