New Delhi: India on Tuesday said the long-pending process to reform the UN Security Council (UNSC) cannot be held hostage by the "narrow, divisive interests
of a select few Member States", as negotiations entered their 18th round without any concrete outcome. The remarks came after the UN General Assembly decided to roll over the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reforms to its 81st session, which begins in September. The annual rollover means discussions on expanding and reforming the powerful 15-member Security Council will continue without any final agreement. While joining the consensus on the rollover, India strongly criticised the lack of progress in the negotiations. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said the latest round of talks had once again failed to produce meaningful results.
#IndiaAtUN
Statement by PR @AmbHarishP at the adoption of the oral decision to roll over the Intergovernmental Negotiations on @UN Security Council reforms to the 81st session.
Outlined 🇮🇳’s concerns regarding the lack of progress and reservations on various aspects of the… pic.twitter.com/BrgI2T8oTD— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) July 28, 2026
"The 80th IGN session, like the previous sessions, has not been successful in forging any outcomes or initiatives that could pave the way for implementing real reforms. The cluster-debates have largely been a reiteration of known positions of member states and groups," Harish said at the UN.
Using an analogy from Indian philosophy, Harish compared the repeated rounds of negotiations to the cycle of rebirth.
"The IGN has been through seventeen cycles already. Sadly, however, there is no liberation in sight. How much longer should the world wait?" he said.
He warned that every year spent repeating the same positions weakens hopes of making the UN more effective in addressing global conflicts.
"There is a palpable sense of disappointment among Member States and global citizenry regarding the inability of the Security Council to meaningfully intervene in conflicts across the globe. The need for comprehensive UN Security Council reforms cannot be more pronounced, and more urgent. It cannot be held hostage by the narrow, divisive interests of a select few Member States," Harish said.
He stressed that the only way forward is through text-based negotiations with clearly defined timelines and milestones.
India has consistently called for expanding both the permanent and non-permanent categories of the Security Council, with greater representation for countries from the Global South.
"India stands fully ready to contribute to this endeavour. It is our sincere hope that the 81st IGN session would mark a new beginning on this count," Harish said.
Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched India's campaign for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2028-29 term. Elections for that seat will be held in June next year, with India and Tajikistan contesting the Asia-Pacific Group seat.
India last served as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 2021-22. New Delhi has repeatedly argued that expanding only the non-permanent category, as proposed by the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, would not bring meaningful reform because it would leave the decision-making powers of the five permanent members unchanged.
The UfC group, which includes Canada, Pakistan, Türkiye and Italy, has proposed expanding the Security Council to 27 members but opposes the creation of any new permanent seats.
