'Two conflicts going on, where is UN?': Jaishankar says global body is like an old company, not keeping up with market

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the United Nations (UN) was like an old company, which was not entirely keeping up with the market, but occupying the space. He said two conflicts were going on in the world today, but the UN he suggested was essentially a bystander.  

"At the end of the day, however suboptimal it is in functioning, it is still the only multilateral game in town but when it doesn't step up on key issues, countries figure out their own ways of doing it," Jaishankar said while speaking at Kautilya Economic Conclave. "Let's take the last 5-10 years, probably the biggest thing which happened in our lives was COVID. Think about what the UN do on COVID. I think the answer is not very much." 

The EAM also referred to the Ukraine-Russia war and Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East and suggested that the UN was not able to do anything to resolve the crisis. "Now you have two conflicts going on in the world today. Where is the UN on them, essentially a bystander?" 

Even during COVID, he said, countries either did their own thing or you had an initiative like COVAX, which was done by a group of countries. "When it comes to the big issues of the day, I think increasingly you find combinations of countries who come together and say, let's agree on this and let's go and do it. I think today the UN will continue, but increasingly there's a non-UN space, which is the active space."

India has been calling for reform of the Security Council, including expansion in both its permanent and non-permanent categories, saying the 15-nation Council, founded in 1945, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geo-political realities.

Jaishankar last month said that while the world had evolved into a smart, interconnected and multipolar arena, the UN remained a prisoner of the past. He said countries of the Global South cannot continue to be "short-changed" and their proper representation in the permanent category in a reformed UN Security Council is a "particular imperative".

"The world has evolved into a smart, interconnected and multipolar arena and its members have increased fourfold since the UN’s inception. Yet the UN remains a prisoner of the past," Jaishankar said while speaking at the 2nd Foreign Ministers meeting of G20 Brasil 2024. He said that as a result, the UN Security Council struggles to fulfil its mandate of maintaining international peace and stability, undermining its effectiveness and credibility.

Addressing the event in the UN Headquarters, Jaishankar said that "without reforms, including expansion in both categories of UNSC membership", the lack of effectiveness of the 15-nation body will only continue. "Expansion and proper representation in the permanent category is a particular imperative. Asia, Africa and Latin America – the Global South – cannot continue to be short-changed," he said adding that they must be given their legitimate voice.