US backs India for UN Security Council permanent membership: How does a country get UNSCs' permanent membership?

President of the United States Joe Biden, on Friday, reiterated his support for India’s permanent membership of a “reformed” United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Biden held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday after arriving in New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit. 

India and the US have also released a joint statement after the bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two countries. The statement said that President Joe Biden “reaffirmed his support for a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member”.

The US also “welcomed once again India’s candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29”.

“The leaders once again underscored the need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system so it may better reflect contemporary realities and remain committed to a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council,” the joint statement read.

Permanent members of the UNSC

There are five countries with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. These include France, the Russian Federation, China, the UK, and the US. The council also has 10 non-permanent members who get elected for two-year terms by the United Nations General Assembly. 

How does a country get permanent membership of the UNSC? 

According to the United Nations, the ‘Oppenheim's International Law: United Nations’ book states that “permanent membership in the Security Council was granted to five states based on their importance in the aftermath of World War II”. The permanent members are sometimes called the ‘P5’ and have “a unique role that has evolved over time”.

The United Nations doesn’t clearly state the procedure to give a country the permanent membership of the Security Council. However, the UN Charter “establishes the membership of the Security Council”.

As per Article 23 of the Charter, there shall be 15 members of the UN Security Council with five permanent and 10 non-permanent. Initially, there were just 11 members - five permanent and six non-permanent members – of the UNSC. But, an amendment to the Charter was made in 1965 to increase the membership.

Hence, for India to gain permanent membership in the UN Security Council, the UN Charter will have to be amended.

As per Article 108 of the UN Charter, such amendments must be adopted by “two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly and ratified by two-thirds of the members of the United Nations, including all the permanent members of the Security Council”.