India is not pitching for the high profile position. It is instead eyeing a seat at the high table as a permanent member of an expanded SC.
NEW DELHI: Though there is consensus in the United Nations for an Asian candidate to replace UN Secretary General Kofi Annan when he retires at the end of the year, India is not pitching for the high profile position. The reason? India is playing for higher stakes — a seat at the high table as a permanent member of an expanded Security Council.
The unwritten convention at the UN is that the Secretary General should not be from any of the permanent five members of the Security Council. This automatically blocks off US, China, Russia, France and Britain. India has been pitching for entry to the Security Council for over a decade and has spent time and money in wooing countries big and small for support.
While it is now clear that the Big Five will not allow new permanent members the right of veto, nevertheless the proposition is good enough to India to keep pushing for a place in the exclusive club. Sitting in and taking part in discussions of the Security Council is good enough for now. It helps a country to get an insight into the thinking at the highest level on vital international issues. It also gives India a chance to play a crucial part in the discussions.
India is hoping that the reform of the UN Security Council will be on the agenda in the new UN General Assembly session starting in September. However, nobody can pinpoint when the expanded Security Council will finally be in place. It could be next year or take three years more. There is no guarantee that these reforms will be smooth and carry all 144 member nations along.
The race for Kofi Annan’s place is on. So far there are three candidates, though nothing is official yet. The South Korean foreign minister Ban Ki-Moon is a front runner and is said to have the backing of the US for the moment. Washington is also not opposed to Sri Lanka’s Jayanta Dharmapala, who earlier served as under secretary general at the UN. He is currently an adviser to President Mahinda Rajapakse.
Thailand’s deputy prime minister and former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathi is backed by the ASEAN group. China is said to favour Thailand’s candidate. India has not yet made up its mind who to back. More candidates can also emerge as the race hots up around October. There was much speculation at one time that India may field Shashi Tharoor, who has long spent long years at the UN.
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