PM pitches for UNSC reforms

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday made a strong pitch for reforms in the UN Security Council saying these should reflect current realities.

“The UN Security Council must be reformed and restructured to reflect current political realities,” Manmohan Singh said in his speech in the UN General Assembly.

“More developing countries should be included as both permanent and non-permanent members,” he said.

The prime minister also said that multilateral financial institutions should also enable an enhanced voice for developing countries in their decision making structures.
“Multilateral efforts must guide our quest for peace and security, wherever they are threatened. And the centrality and contribution of the UN system to development must be restored,” he said.

“These objectives, Mr. President, require the building of a new international consensus, suited to our time and rooted in today’s realities,” Manmohan Singh said, adding that only such a plan of action would enable the UN to meet “the twin tests of legitimacy and effectiveness and efficiency”.