Kishore Mahbubani’s suggestion that India should assume Britain’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council (“UN credibility depends on matching veto rights to shift in global power”, Opinion, August 12) has no merit. Although I am in favour of Security Council reform, and certainly of stripping Britain, France and Russia of their permanent membership in the Security Council, Mahbubani’s suggestion is a non-starter. Why not call on Russia to forfeit its seat, given it has violated one of the core principles of the UN Charter, (namely Article 2(4) which prohibits the use or threat of force in international relations)?
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s democratic credentials have gradually eroded. There has been a deliberate assault on press freedom, respect for the rule of law, free and fair elections, and respect for human rights, especially for the Muslim minority.
Nor is India the right country to represent developing countries on the Security Council. In recent years India has shifted its geopolitics’ priorities and no longer identifies with the concerns of developing countries except when it suits India’s global ambition. This does not strike me as a good model for permanent membership in the Security Council.
Professor Max Hilaire
Owings Mills, MD, US
