What are G4 countries and why Ukraine wants to join them

 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has questioned the Security Council’s permanent membership (UNSC). He demanded a justification for India, Japan, and Ukraine’s absence from the UN Security Council’s permanent membership.

The day will come when this will be resolved. There was a lot of talking about reforming the UN. How did it all end? No result,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy brought up a significant point. The military of Japan and India are among the most powerful in the world. Why, then, are these strong nations with sizable economies denied a permanent seat on the UN Security Council?

Japan, Germany, Brazil and India are a part of the G4 nations, these nations wish to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council due to their size, population and economies.

The permanent members get veto power.

Before we dive in, let us explore which countries are permanent and non-permanent members of the UNSC

 

The Permanent UNSC Members?

There are 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. They are:

1. The United States
2. The United Kingdom
3. Russia
4. France
5. China

 

 

The Non-Permanent UNSC Members

There are 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council. They are:

1. Albania
2. Brazil
3. Gabon
4. Ghana
5. India
6. Ireland
7. Kenya
8. Mexico
9. Norway
10. United Arab Emirates

 

As of now, India is a non-permanent member of the UNSC. Japan and Ukraine are neither permanent nor non-permanent members.

The non-permanent members rotate their membership every two years to make way for new members.

After reading all this, one may be curious about why is India not a Permanent member of the Security Council?

 

It all started when India was given the opportunity to join the UNSC by the US in 1950 and by the Soviet Union at the time in 1955, respectively. Jawaharlal Nehru, who was India’s prime minister at the time, rejected the offer because he believed that as China’s neighbour and partner, it deserved a proper place on the council.

Political leaders in India have since regretted their choice to reject the permanent UNSC seat. The paradigm of the world has changed during the past few decades. India has gradually grown to be one of the most powerful nations economically and militarily. It also represents 17% of the global population, having 1.3 billion citizens.

Lately, India’s bids to attain a permanent seat in the Security Council have been denied by China, as all 5 permanent members’ approval is required to allow a new permanent member.