Friday, February 11 2005 09:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Coming out in strong support of India's claim for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC), former Secretary-General of the world body Boutros Boutros Ghali yesterday (Feb 10, 2005) said that there was a consensus in this regard and it was for New Delhi to decide whether it wanted to enter the group without the power of veto.

"I believe that there is a kind of consensus that India deserves a permanent place in the Security Council. I also believe that India deserves it," Ghali said delivering a lecture on 'The United Nations Crisis and its Reform' in New Delhi.

"The question is will India accept a permanent seat if it does not have the power of veto," he added.

Ghali, who is on a visit to India in his capacity as Chairman of Geneva-based think-tank the South Centre, said that only member States of the UN could decide whether to extend the power of veto to new permanent members of the Security Council or limit it to the five holding it at the moment.

However, he cautioned against "fixation" on the veto as this "may divert attention from other important underlying issues, namely those of representation and influence in the Council."

Noting that a 'High-Level Panel' appointed by the UN had recently suggested distribution of permanent seats between four major areas - Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and America - Ghali said that an expanded Security Council would have a greater claim to representativeness.

But he also expressed apprehension that an expansion could contribute to the concentration of power and marginalisation of the General Assembly.