Problems best solved outside UN Security Council: India

United Nations, July 31: Solutions to global problems are best found outside the Security Council in forums like the General Assembly that are democratic, inclusive and transparent, India declared on Thursday. Speaking at a Council debate on peace and security challenges of small island developing states (SIDS), Permanent Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji said that in dealing with their problems, "it is clear effective international cooperation on the concerns has been most viable outside the UN Security Council" where "a democratic, inclusive and transparent approach" can be taken. Asserting that "we must look beyond the Security Council in redressing the concerns", Mukerji gave the example of international anti-piracy efforts. Although the Security Council tried to address the piracy issue through two resolutions, "it has been through a much wider grouping, the 60-member Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia, that the security and economic concerns related to piracy have actually been addressed", he said. This effective "democratic and transparent approach" could be the model for broader international cooperation to tackle piracy concerns of the SIDS under the framework of the General Assembly, he added. India has long been critical of the functioning of the Security Council, which is dominated by the five veto-wielding nations, China, Britain, France, Russia and the United States.