Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson has said that India should be granted more influence in global affairs, including membership in the Group of Eight industrialised nations and a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Richardson said in a speech on Wednesday
to The Asia Society that India can provide an economic counterbalance to China, according to text provided by his campaign.
Richardson, now governor of New Mexico, has said he wants to expand the UN Security Council from its current five permanent members to 10. He has also said he would grant membership but not veto power to Germany and Japan.
Richardson also said the United States should join the International Criminal Court. President George W Bush has refused to do so, citing fears Americans would be unfairly prosecuted for political reasons.
Richardson told The Asia Society that the United States must have an impeccable human rights record to set an example for the rest of the world, and that includes joining the court and ending what he called Bush administration policies that "are inconsistent with the Geneva conventions and international law.