Fact Check: Has India Become A Permanent Member Of The UN Security Council?

While there is increasing international support for UNSC reform to add more permanent members, including India, it has not yet been made a permanent member.

The Verdict [False]

According to the website of the UNSC, as of now, there are only five permanent members - United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Russia.

What's the claim?

Several posts on X (formerly Twitter) claim that India has been made a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The captions of the tweets proclaim that "Bharat" has got permanent membership in the UNSC and congratulates the country for it. The captions further write in Hindi that India now has veto power in the UNSC and states that there were previously five countries with permanent membership, and now there are six, including India. The posts also contain videos with montages of United Nations (U.N.) meetings with a voiceover declaring that India is now a permanent member of the UNSC. Archive links to the posts can be found here, here, here, and here. 

Screenshots of posts on X claiming that India has been made a permanent member of the UNSC. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

While there is increasing international support for UNSC reform to add more permanent members, including India, it has not yet been made a permanent member.

UNSC, permanent members, and the veto vote

The UNSC is one of the U.N.'s six principal organs. It is the only organ that can issue binding resolutions to member states and recommend new member states to the United Nations. In terms of its mandate, it is majorly responsible for international peace and security, conflict mediation, approving changes to the U.N. charter, peacekeeping missions, authorizing military action, and enacting international sanctions.

The membership of the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members. The five permanent members were selected in 1945 and remain unchanged. They are the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Russia. The 10 non-permanent members are elected for a two-year period via a secret ballot conducted in the General Assembly. The current non-permanent members are Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Switzerland. 

Another distinction between the two is the veto power. Permanent members can veto any resolution regardless of whether it has majority approval. For example, even if 14 other countries vote in favor of a resolution, it will not be passed if a permanent member vetoes it. This has often been used by permanent members to stop resolutions against themselves and their allies.

Has India been made a permanent member?

No, India has not been made a permanent member of the UNSC according to the latest meetings and resolutions from the UNSC. According to the UNSC website, there are currently five permanent members, the ones mentioned above. The last time India was a non-permanent member was for the 2021-2022 term.

While there have been discussions and support for council membership reform and the addition of new permanent members, including India, no concrete steps have been taken towards reform.

The verdict

As of now, India is not a member of the United Nations Security Council in any capacity. Social media users are making a false claim.

This report first appeared on logicallyfacts.com, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.