India Seeks UNSC Seat Amid Global Competition

India recently launched its campaign to serve the two-year (2028-29) term on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). If elected, this will be India’s 9th time on the UNSC. The election will be held in June 2027. The other contestant for the one seat from Asia is Tajikistan. The United Nations is divided into five regional groups representing Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe & Others (WEOG). The latter comprises the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. The Eastern Europe group is reminiscent of the Cold War era, with the UNSC’s permanent membership (P5) of the United States, United Kingdom, France and Russia also representing the victorious Allied powers, plus China . The UNSC also has 10 non-permanent members elected by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms. These include three from Africa, one from Eastern Europe, and two each from Asia, Latin America and WEOG. Five elected members retire every year, making way for a rotation among the non-permanent members. Pakistan is presently a member of the UNSC from Asia, having joined in 2025-26, while Bahrain’s tenure expires in 2027. Kyrgyzstan will replace Pakistan in 2027 and serve through 2028. From an outsider’s perspective, India’s contest against Tajikistan should be a no-brainer given our global standing and G-20 membership, among other things. However, elections at the UN can unfold in strange ways if what happened this June is any indication: In a three-way contest for two seats among the Western countries, Portugal and Austria pipped major economy, Germany. As a large financial contributor to the UN and aspirant for permanent membership of the UNSC, the Germans have sought UNSC membership every seventh or eighth year, having last served the 2019-20 term. Since the election was a secret ballot, it is unclear what unfolded. However, there appears to be a growing discontent among the Global South over Germany’s views on Israel’s war in Gaza . It also signaled a certain solidarity among the smaller UN member countries against global heavyweights. At the same time, in the Asian group, Kyrgyzstan defeated the Philippines, a longtime UN member that enjoyed ASEAN backing. The Kyrgyz obtained 142 votes out of 191 cast and comfortably crossed the two-thirds requirement of 127 votes thanks to the support of the 50-plus-member Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) group, to which it belongs, as well as what appears was strong Chinese support. There was also a contest for the UNGA Presidency this time in which the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh got the better of the candidate from Cyprus. Here, too, it would appear that factors similar to what benefited Kyrgyzstan and saw the defeat of Germany were in operation. In the normal course, Kyrgyzstan’s UNSC membership meets the need for Central Asian representation and should make India’s path to the UNSC easier. However, the reasons for the Kyrgyz and Bangladesh victories and German loss underscored the need for a robust global campaign by India, which has been launched well in time. In 2010, India faced a similar situation with Kazakhstan. This was avoided leveraging strong bilateral ties with the Kazakhs repositioning their candidature to 2017-18. While election was assured, a sustained diplomatic efforts in New York and across the globe saw India secure a record 187 votes in the election, signaling global acceptance for India’s permanent membership of the UNSC. “Wither UN” is a much-heard phrase nowadays. While the powerful always have power at their disposal, de jure global legitimisation requires the UN. Indeed, even the US needed a UNSC resolution to establish President Trump’s signature peace initiative, the Board of Peace (for Gaza). On our part, most of the countries included in the major diplomatic outreach mounted as part of Operation Sindoor were those that were serving on the UNSC in 2025 and would do so in 2026, the two years when Pakistan was a member. To date, Pakistan has not been able to use its membership of the UNSC to pressure India; on the other hand, the UNSC adopting a resolution condemning the Pahalgam terrorist attack was important for India. Ambassador Manjeev S Puri is Former Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN. His views are personal