NEW DELHI, Dec 2: India said on Thursday it was studying a UN report that backs expanding the Security Council with no veto power to new members and Foreign Minister Kunwar Natwar Singh told parliament that the proposal was not likely to be acceptable to New Delhi.
"Without a veto I do not think it will be acceptable to the country," Mr Singh told Rajya Sabha. He thus effectively rejected reports that India may get into the council without veto power. He described the reports as "purely speculative".
The report of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, submitted to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Thursday, proposed enlarging the 15-nation Security Council to a 24-member body without veto power to new permanent members.
A second alternative suggested by the panel was to have eight states as a new class of members serving for four years each, with the possibility of their tenure being renewed.
They would include two countries each from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. A statement jointly issued by India, Japan, Brazil and Germany, which together form a group called G-4, underplayed the panel report.
It said the four countries support "the call for a comprehensive approach" to take on interconnected threats to international peace and security. "The international community needs to embrace this opportunity wholeheartedly to bring about the needed change... We believe in acting with the required attention and without artificial acceleration and delays," the statement said.
