News Analysis India

Tag: UN General Assembly

  • ‘Kindly don’t patronise us, we know what to do’: India on abstention in UNGA on Ukraine

    By PTI

    UNITED NATIONS: India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti has told the Ambassador of the Netherlands to the UK that “Kindly don’t patronise us,” New Delhi “knows what to do” when the Dutch envoy said India should not have abstained in the UN General Assembly on Ukraine.

    On February 24, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities.

    Since January this year, India has abstained on procedural votes and draft resolutions in the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council that deplored Russian aggression against Ukraine.

    “Kindly don’t patronise us, Ambassador. We know what to do,” Tirumurti said in response to a tweet by Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Karel van Oosterom.

    In the tweet, the Dutch envoy said to Tirumurti “You should not have abstained in the GA. Respect the UN Charter.”

    Tirumurti delivered a statement at the UN Security Council meeting Wednesday on Ukraine.

    He posted the full text of his statement on Twitter saying “At the UN Security Council meeting on #Ukraine this afternoon, I made the following statement” to which van Oosterom made the comment about India abstaining in the General Assembly.

    In April, India abstained in the UN General Assembly on a vote moved by the US to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over allegations that Russian soldiers killed civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

    In March, India abstained from the UN General Assembly on a resolution by Ukraine and its allies on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, saying the focus should be on cessation of hostilities and on urgent humanitarian assistance and the draft did not fully reflect New Delhi’s expected to focus on these challenges.

    On March 2, the General Assembly had voted to reaffirm its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and deplored in the strongest terms Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

    India, along with 34 other nations had abstained from the resolution, which was adopted with 141 votes in favour and five Member States voting against.

  • India abstains on UNGA resolution that deplores Russia’s aggression against Ukraine

    By PTI

    UNITED NATIONS: India abstained in the 193-member UN General Assembly on a resolution that strongly deplored Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the third abstention in less than a week by the country in the world body on resolutions on the escalating crisis between Moscow and Kyiv.

    The General Assembly on Wednesday voted to reaffirm its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and “deplores in the strongest terms” Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

    Nearly 100 UN Member States co-sponsored the resolution titled ‘Aggression Against Ukraine’, including Afghanistan, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, Singapore, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

    The resolution required a 2/3 majority of those voting yes and no to be adopted in the General Assembly.

    A total of 141 members voted in the favour of the resolution while 5 opposed it.

    India was among 35 nations who abstained.

    The UNGA resolution was similar to the one circulated in the 15-nation Security Council last Friday, on which also India had abstained.

    The UNSC resolution, which received 11 votes in favour and three abstentions, was blocked after permanent member Russia exercised its veto.

    Following the failure of the Council to adopt the resolution, the Security Council voted on Sunday again to convene a rare “emergency special session” of the 193-member General Assembly on the crisis.

    India again abstained on this resolution, reiterating that “there is no other choice but to return back to the path of diplomacy and dialogue.”

    The procedural resolution Sunday was adopted even though Moscow voted against it and the General Assembly then held a rare emergency special session on the Ukraine crisis Monday.

    President of the 76th session of the General Assembly Abdulla Shahid presided over the unprecedented session, only the 11th such emergency session of the General Assembly since 1950.

    With the adoption of the UNSC resolution Sunday, it was for the first time in 40 years that the Council decided to call for an emergency special session in the General Assembly.

    The resolution demanded that Russia immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine and refrain from any further unlawful threat or use of force against any UN member state.

    The resolution also demanded that Russia “immediately, completely, and unconditionally” withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

    The 193-member UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution that strongly deplored Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, days after a similar resolution was vetoed by Russia in the Security Council on the escalating crisis between Moscow and Kyiv.

    The General Assembly on Wednesday voted to reaffirm its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and “deplores in the strongest terms” Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

    Nearly 100 UN Member States co-sponsored the resolution titled ‘Aggression Against Ukraine’, including Afghanistan, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, Singapore, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

    The resolution was adopted with 141 votes in favour, five Member States voting against and 35 abstentions.

    The General Assembly broke into an applause as the resolution was adopted.

    The UNGA resolution was similar to the one circulated in the 15-nation Security Council last Friday.

    The UNSC resolution, which received 11 votes in favour and three abstentions, was blocked after permanent member Russia exercised its veto.

    Following the failure of the Council to adopt the resolution, the Security Council voted on Sunday again to convene a rare “emergency special session” of the 193-member General Assembly on the crisis.

    A Ukrainian official says the advance of Russian troops in Kharkiv has been stopped, but that Russians have responded by shelling the city with heavy rocket launchers and air attacks.

    “Kharkiv today is the Stalingrad of the 21st century,” said Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

    Oleg Sinehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said that over the past 24 hours 21 people were killed and at least 112 were injured by Russians.

    Explosions on Wednesday thundered on Constitution Square, near the buildings of the City Council and the Palace of Labour.

    A missile attack also destroyed the building of the regional police department in Kharkiv and the university building, which is located across the street.

    Arestovich said that several Russian planes were shot down over Kharkiv.

    The Russians used Iskander missile systems to bombard Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Chernihiv.

    Arestovich said Iskander missile systems can deviate from their target, making them “a danger to civilian objects.”

  • PM Narendra Modi departs for three-day visit to US

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a three-day visit to the United States on Wednesday where he will address the UN General Assembly and attend the Quad Summit as well as hold a bilateral meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House.

    Biden will host PM Modi at the White House on September 24, this is going to be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after Biden took over as the US President on January 20.

    As per the statement issued by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, PM Modi and President Biden are expected to discuss ways to stem radicalisation and combat terrorism. They are also expected to discuss ways to bolster defence, trade ties, security collaborations and clean energy partnership among others,”

    ALSO READ| UNGA address will focus on COVID, need to combat terrorism: PM Modi

    PM Modi and Biden will discuss the current regional security situation following the recent developments in Afghanistan. PM Modi will also hold business interactions during his US visit from September 22-25.

    Prime Minister Modi will attend the first in-person summit of the Quad hosted by the US President on Friday, which will be attended by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan and Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia.

    PM Modi will address the General Debate of the High-Level Segment of 76th Session of UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 25 in New York.

    The theme for this year’s general debate is building resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people and revitalise the United Nations.

    ALSO WATCH |

    While addressing the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister will dwell on the important issues, including the regional situation, cross border terrorism, global efforts to combat COVID-19 and climate change and the need to reform multilateral institutions.

    Another element of the Prime Minister’s visit would be bilateral meetings with our close partners Japan and Australia where he will hold several bilateral meetings including with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

    PM Modi is accompanied by a high-level delegation consisting of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and senior officials including Shringla. This is Prime Minister Modi’s first visit abroad beyond the neighbourhood since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

  • India hits out at UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir for comments on Jammu and Kashmir

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India on Friday hit out at President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir for his comments on Jammu and Kashmir, saying his “misleading and prejudiced” remarks does “great disservice to the office he occupies”.

    Bozkir, at a press conference in Islamabad along with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday, said it was “Pakistan’s duty” to bring the issue of the Jammu and Kashmir more strongly to the UN.

    In a strong reaction, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said his remarks are “unacceptable” and his reference to the Indian union territory is “unwarranted”.

    “When an incumbent President of the UN General Assembly makes misleading and prejudiced remarks, he does great disservice to the office he occupies. The President of the UN General Assembly’s behaviour is truly regrettable and surely diminishes his standing on the global platform,” MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in response to a media query on the issue.

    Expressing “strong opposition to the unwarranted references made with respect to the Indian Union Territory of J-K” by Bozkir during his recent visit to Pakistan, Bagchi said his remarks that “Pakistan is ‘duty bound’ to raise this issue in the UN more strongly are unacceptable. Nor indeed is there any basis for comparison to other global situations.”

    Bozkir arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday on a three-day official visit at the invitation of Qureshi.

    Pakistan has been making concerted efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue and stepped up anti-India campaign on the issue following New Delhi’s decision to withdraw special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories in August 2019.

    India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

    India has said the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.