Tag: UN Security Council

  • Classifying terrorists as ‘bad, ‘good’ on basis of political convenience must end, says India at UN

    By PTI

    UNITED NATIONS: The era of classifying terrorists as “bad” or “good” on the basis of “political convenience” must end immediately, a concept note circulated by India in the UN Security Council here has said, underlining that categorising terror acts by intent as religious or ideologically motivated will dilute the shared global commitment to fighting terrorism.

    India, the current president of the 15-nation UN Security Council, will hold two signature events on reformed multilateralism and counter-terrorism to be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on December 14 and 15.

    India proposes to organise a briefing of the Security Council on December 15 on “Global counter-terrorism approach, principles and the way forward” under the “Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts”.

    Ahead of the meeting, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, asked that a concept note intended to guide the discussions on the topic be circulated as a document of the Security Council.

    “The terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001 were a turning point in the global approach to counter-terrorism. Since then, London, Mumbai, Paris, many parts of West Asia and Africa have also experienced terrorist attacks,” the concept note last week said.

    It added that these attacks highlight that the threat of terrorism is grave and universal and that terrorism in one part of the world seriously impacts peace and security in other parts of the globe.

    “The threat of terrorism is transnational. Terrorist actors and their supporters, facilitators and financiers collaborate while remaining in different jurisdictions to organise acts anywhere in the world. A transnational threat can be defeated only by the collective efforts of all States Members of the United Nations,” it said.

    Stressing that the menace of terrorism cannot be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group, the note said that all acts of terrorism are criminal.

    “Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be condemned. There cannot be an exception or justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of its motivation and wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. The era of classifying terrorists as “bad”, “not so bad” or “good” on the basis of political convenience must end immediately”.

    It said that existing and emerging threats call for a renewed collective approach to terrorism.

    “Looking at the motivations behind terrorist acts and categorising such acts by intent as political or religious and by ideological motivation will dilute our shared commitment to fighting terrorism,” it said.

    The concept note voices concern that in recent times, there has been a resurgence of terrorist activities in both range and diversity, as well as in geographical space.

    “The threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan, Al-Qaida, Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent and terrorist groups sheltering in Afghanistan has increased following the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021,” the note said.

    It added that the collective expectation of the Security Council, expressed in its resolution 2593 (2021) that was adopted under India’s August 2021 presidency of the Council, was that Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism, to threaten or attack any country, to shelter or train terrorists or to plan or finance terrorist acts.

    It however noted that “the threat prospects remain high.”

    Further, Africa’s home-grown terrorist groups have found ideological support from global terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida and ISIL.

    “The terrorist threat was further complicated by pirates and organised criminal networks facilitating trafficking in arms, drugs, humans and finance for these terrorist groups. The threat continues to grow towards the coastal region of Western Africa.”

    The concept note said that proliferation of digitalisation, new and emerging communications and financing technologies has also increased the risk of these technologies being used by terrorist groups.

    The risk of radicalisation through the Internet and social media, and terror financing using cryptocurrencies and crowdfunding platforms, was heightened, particularly during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

    Member states have, in recent times, also witnessed the use of unmanned aerial systems for the surveillance of targets, trafficking in drugs and arms and the launching of terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure and public places, it said.

    The proposed high-level briefing also aims to provide an opportunity for Council members to build on the recent deliberations of the Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting in Mumbai and Delhi held in late October under the chairmanship of India, to “further share their views on the current state of affairs and to aim to arrive at key principles of the global community’s collective fight against terrorism going forward.”

    Among the guiding questions for the meeting is what are the trends that the global collective needs to be wary of in the fight against terrorism and how the sanctity of sanctions regimes against terrorists and terror entities can be safeguarded and made effective in combating terrorism.

    UNITED NATIONS: The era of classifying terrorists as “bad” or “good” on the basis of “political convenience” must end immediately, a concept note circulated by India in the UN Security Council here has said, underlining that categorising terror acts by intent as religious or ideologically motivated will dilute the shared global commitment to fighting terrorism.

    India, the current president of the 15-nation UN Security Council, will hold two signature events on reformed multilateralism and counter-terrorism to be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on December 14 and 15.

    India proposes to organise a briefing of the Security Council on December 15 on “Global counter-terrorism approach, principles and the way forward” under the “Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts”.

    Ahead of the meeting, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, asked that a concept note intended to guide the discussions on the topic be circulated as a document of the Security Council.

    “The terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001 were a turning point in the global approach to counter-terrorism. Since then, London, Mumbai, Paris, many parts of West Asia and Africa have also experienced terrorist attacks,” the concept note last week said.

    It added that these attacks highlight that the threat of terrorism is grave and universal and that terrorism in one part of the world seriously impacts peace and security in other parts of the globe.

    “The threat of terrorism is transnational. Terrorist actors and their supporters, facilitators and financiers collaborate while remaining in different jurisdictions to organise acts anywhere in the world. A transnational threat can be defeated only by the collective efforts of all States Members of the United Nations,” it said.

    Stressing that the menace of terrorism cannot be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group, the note said that all acts of terrorism are criminal.

    “Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be condemned. There cannot be an exception or justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of its motivation and wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. The era of classifying terrorists as “bad”, “not so bad” or “good” on the basis of political convenience must end immediately”.

    It said that existing and emerging threats call for a renewed collective approach to terrorism.

    “Looking at the motivations behind terrorist acts and categorising such acts by intent as political or religious and by ideological motivation will dilute our shared commitment to fighting terrorism,” it said.

    The concept note voices concern that in recent times, there has been a resurgence of terrorist activities in both range and diversity, as well as in geographical space.

    “The threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan, Al-Qaida, Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent and terrorist groups sheltering in Afghanistan has increased following the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021,” the note said.

    It added that the collective expectation of the Security Council, expressed in its resolution 2593 (2021) that was adopted under India’s August 2021 presidency of the Council, was that Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism, to threaten or attack any country, to shelter or train terrorists or to plan or finance terrorist acts.

    It however noted that “the threat prospects remain high.”

    Further, Africa’s home-grown terrorist groups have found ideological support from global terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida and ISIL.

    “The terrorist threat was further complicated by pirates and organised criminal networks facilitating trafficking in arms, drugs, humans and finance for these terrorist groups. The threat continues to grow towards the coastal region of Western Africa.”

    The concept note said that proliferation of digitalisation, new and emerging communications and financing technologies has also increased the risk of these technologies being used by terrorist groups.

    The risk of radicalisation through the Internet and social media, and terror financing using cryptocurrencies and crowdfunding platforms, was heightened, particularly during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

    Member states have, in recent times, also witnessed the use of unmanned aerial systems for the surveillance of targets, trafficking in drugs and arms and the launching of terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure and public places, it said.

    The proposed high-level briefing also aims to provide an opportunity for Council members to build on the recent deliberations of the Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting in Mumbai and Delhi held in late October under the chairmanship of India, to “further share their views on the current state of affairs and to aim to arrive at key principles of the global community’s collective fight against terrorism going forward.”

    Among the guiding questions for the meeting is what are the trends that the global collective needs to be wary of in the fight against terrorism and how the sanctity of sanctions regimes against terrorists and terror entities can be safeguarded and made effective in combating terrorism.

  • Mumbai’s Taj Palace to be venue of first day’s meeting of UN counter-terror panel

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India will host the opening day’s deliberations of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on October 28 at Mumbai’s iconic Taj Palace Hotel which was one of the targets of the horrific 26/11 terror attacks nearly 14 years ago.

    The meeting of the top UN panel on October 29 will be held in Delhi, officials said.

    The selection of Taj Palace Hotel as the venue for first day’s programme is seen as an attempt to send across a message about India’s strong resolve to deal with terrorism.

    On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went into rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on a railway station, two luxury hotels (Taj Palace and Oberoi-Trident hotel) and a Jewish centre after they sneaked into India’s financial capital, using the sea route in the Arabian sea from Karachi.

    Over 160 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault that sent shockwaves across the country and even brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a war.

    “The special meeting of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on ‘Countering the Use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorist Purposes’ will begin with a soft opening and associated events in Mumbai on October 28 and continue with a full day’s meeting in New Delhi on October 29,” the panel said in a statement.

    India is the Chair of the committee for the year 2022 and will host diplomats of the 15-nation UN body along with other member states for the special meeting in Mumbai and New Delhi.

    The very fact that the Special Committee is also meeting in Mumbai itself will be a tribute and a statement to the horrific incident, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said last week.

    She said the members of the committee will place a wreath at the site of the attacks.

    India’s two-year tenure as an elected non-permanent member of the 15-nation UN Security Council will end in December.

    The meeting in Delhi is expected to specifically focus on increasing threat of terrorism ad ways to effectively deal with it.

    The meetings in Mumbai and Delhi will be the seventh time that the committee members would gather outside the UN headquarters in New York.

    The last special meeting of the panel that took place outside the UN headquarters was in Madrid in July 2015.

    NEW DELHI: India will host the opening day’s deliberations of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on October 28 at Mumbai’s iconic Taj Palace Hotel which was one of the targets of the horrific 26/11 terror attacks nearly 14 years ago.

    The meeting of the top UN panel on October 29 will be held in Delhi, officials said.

    The selection of Taj Palace Hotel as the venue for first day’s programme is seen as an attempt to send across a message about India’s strong resolve to deal with terrorism.

    On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went into rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on a railway station, two luxury hotels (Taj Palace and Oberoi-Trident hotel) and a Jewish centre after they sneaked into India’s financial capital, using the sea route in the Arabian sea from Karachi.

    Over 160 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault that sent shockwaves across the country and even brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a war.

    “The special meeting of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on ‘Countering the Use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorist Purposes’ will begin with a soft opening and associated events in Mumbai on October 28 and continue with a full day’s meeting in New Delhi on October 29,” the panel said in a statement.

    India is the Chair of the committee for the year 2022 and will host diplomats of the 15-nation UN body along with other member states for the special meeting in Mumbai and New Delhi.

    The very fact that the Special Committee is also meeting in Mumbai itself will be a tribute and a statement to the horrific incident, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said last week.

    She said the members of the committee will place a wreath at the site of the attacks.

    India’s two-year tenure as an elected non-permanent member of the 15-nation UN Security Council will end in December.

    The meeting in Delhi is expected to specifically focus on increasing threat of terrorism ad ways to effectively deal with it.

    The meetings in Mumbai and Delhi will be the seventh time that the committee members would gather outside the UN headquarters in New York.

    The last special meeting of the panel that took place outside the UN headquarters was in Madrid in July 2015.

  • ‘Most uncalled for’: India on China blocking move to designate JeM leader as global terrorist

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Friday described as “most uncalled for” China blocking a proposal at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist.

    Reacting to China’s move, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has noted with “regret” that a “technical hold” has been placed on the proposal, adding the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice in fighting terrorism.

    He asserted that New Delhi will continue to pursue its principled position of bringing such terrorists to justice.

    “It is unfortunate that when it comes to our collective battle against terrorism, the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice,” Bagchi said.

    China on Wednesday put technical hold on the joint proposal at the UN Security Council by India and the US to designate the JeM leader, who is the younger brother of the group’s chief Masood Azhar.

    All other 14 member states of the top UN body supported the proposal.

    Bagchi said Abdul Rauf is the deputy chief of JeM which is a UN proscribed entity.

    He was actively involved in terrorist strikes such as the hijacking of Indian airlines IC 814 in 1999, the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 and on an Indian Army camp in Kathua in 2014.

    “He has been proscribed under Indian and US laws already, and therefore the placing of the ‘technical hold’ against such wanted terrorist is most uncalled for,” Bagchi said.

    The designation of Abdul Rauf would have resulted in a global travel ban on him as well as requiring Pakistan to freeze his assets and to cut off his access to weapons and related materials.

    “India will continue pursuing its principled position of bringing these terrorists to justice, including through the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime,” Bagchi said.

    He also referred to comments by Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, during an open debate at the UN Security Council on August 9.

    Kamboj said there should be no double standards in dealing with terrorists and that the practice of placing holds and blocks without giving any justification must end.

    She said it is most regrettable that genuine and evidence-based listing proposals pertaining to some of the most notorious terrorists in the world are being placed on hold.

    Kamboj said double standards and continuing politicisation have rendered the credibility of the sanctions regime at an all-time low, Bagchi quoted her as saying.

    The Chinese action came less than a month after Beijing blocked a similar joint proposal by India and the US to blacklist the Pakistan-based deputy leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba Abdul Rehman Makki.

    Makki too has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youths to resort to violence and planning and executing attacks in India, including the Mumbai terror strikes.

    NEW DELHI: India on Friday described as “most uncalled for” China blocking a proposal at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist.

    Reacting to China’s move, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has noted with “regret” that a “technical hold” has been placed on the proposal, adding the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice in fighting terrorism.

    He asserted that New Delhi will continue to pursue its principled position of bringing such terrorists to justice.

    “It is unfortunate that when it comes to our collective battle against terrorism, the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice,” Bagchi said.

    China on Wednesday put technical hold on the joint proposal at the UN Security Council by India and the US to designate the JeM leader, who is the younger brother of the group’s chief Masood Azhar.

    All other 14 member states of the top UN body supported the proposal.

    Bagchi said Abdul Rauf is the deputy chief of JeM which is a UN proscribed entity.

    He was actively involved in terrorist strikes such as the hijacking of Indian airlines IC 814 in 1999, the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 and on an Indian Army camp in Kathua in 2014.

    “He has been proscribed under Indian and US laws already, and therefore the placing of the ‘technical hold’ against such wanted terrorist is most uncalled for,” Bagchi said.

    The designation of Abdul Rauf would have resulted in a global travel ban on him as well as requiring Pakistan to freeze his assets and to cut off his access to weapons and related materials.

    “India will continue pursuing its principled position of bringing these terrorists to justice, including through the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime,” Bagchi said.

    He also referred to comments by Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, during an open debate at the UN Security Council on August 9.

    Kamboj said there should be no double standards in dealing with terrorists and that the practice of placing holds and blocks without giving any justification must end.

    She said it is most regrettable that genuine and evidence-based listing proposals pertaining to some of the most notorious terrorists in the world are being placed on hold.

    Kamboj said double standards and continuing politicisation have rendered the credibility of the sanctions regime at an all-time low, Bagchi quoted her as saying.

    The Chinese action came less than a month after Beijing blocked a similar joint proposal by India and the US to blacklist the Pakistan-based deputy leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba Abdul Rehman Makki.

    Makki too has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youths to resort to violence and planning and executing attacks in India, including the Mumbai terror strikes.

  • ‘Will be based on our interests’: Shringla on India’s position on Ukraine crisis as New Delhi sends first tranche of humanitarian aid

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With a number of resolutions coming up at the United Nations on the crisis in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday said India will consider those in their “entirety” and on the basis of national interests.

    While at least two resolutions on the crisis are set to be brought before the UN Security Council, another is coming up at the UN General Assembly.

    “In the UN, we take positions that are based on certain very careful considerations and certainly we do regard the merits of each and every case,” Shringla said at a media briefing.

    “We will consider them in their entirety and take decisions in our best interests,” he said.

    The foreign secretary was replying to a question on whether India’s position on the crisis will see some change following the death of an Indian student due to intense shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday.

    Last week, India abstained from voting on a resolution at the UN Security Council that sought to deplore the Russian military attack on Ukraine.

    But at the same time, India called for respecting the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of countries and sought immediate cessation of “violence and hostilities”.

    While abstaining from voting on the resolution, India issued an “Explanation of Vote” (EoV), in which it called for a “return to the path of diplomacy” and sought immediate cessation of “violence and hostilities”.

    India also told the UN Security Council that it has been in touch with all the parties concerned, urging them to return to the negotiating table.

    “The contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” India said in the EoV.

    “All member states need to honour these principles in finding a constructive way forward. Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment,” it said.

    Russia used its veto power to block the US-sponsored resolution deploring in the “strongest terms” the Russian “aggression” against Ukraine.

    Besides India, China and the United Arab Emirates also abstained from voting.

    India on Tuesday sent the first tranche of humanitarian assistance comprising medicines and other relief materials to Ukraine via Poland.

    At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said another flight will carry the second consignment of aid to the east European country on Wednesday.

    “A flight left this morning carrying the first tranche of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine through Poland,” he said.

    India on Monday decided to send the relief supplies to Ukraine to help it deal with the humanitarian situation along its border areas that has arisen out of tens of thousands of people attempting to flee the Russian invasion.

    “The prime minister noted that the first consignment of relief supplies to Ukraine to deal with the humanitarian situation on Ukraine’s borders would be despatched tomorrow,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

    Ukrainian envoy Igor Polikha thanked India for sending humanitarian aid to his country.

  • Indian students claim thrashing by Ukraine guards as India abstains on UN vote on Ukraine invasion

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  There has been growing distress calls from Indian students stuck at Ukraine-Poland border claiming that they were ‘manhandled’ and ‘ill-treated’ by the Ukrainian security personnel allegedly because India did not condemn the Russian invasion at the UN Security Council.

    Many of these students, who were stuck for over 72 hours in freezing cold conditions, alleged that they were kicked, beaten up, dragged and some even had their phones snatched from them. According to Sandeep Kaur, the Ukrainians were earlier allowing some students to cross but later stopped them from entering Poland. 

    “I was waiting along with my brother and some of our friends in a group. First, the officials asked us to stand in a line and we did. Later they asked the girls to make a separate line… They then let me cross the border while my brother waited on the other side. When my brother said that he too is in the queue, they dragged and beat him with a baton,” Kaur told this correspondent.

    The student rued that there was none from the Indian Embassy to coordinate with the Ukrainian authorities at the border. “After we crossed the Poland border, we met Indian embassy officials but there was none on the Ukrainian side. Boys on the Ukrainian side have been manhandled badly. Now my brother is returning to his college hostel along with his friends as the situation has worsened.”

    When contacted regarding the incidents, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi declined to comment. According to Monisha Kalburgi, a student of Lviv National Medical University, some of her friends returned from the Poland border. Ukrainian personnel are unhappy that India favoured Russia, she claimed, adding that this was the reason for the ill-treatment.

    Another student told this newspaper, “We left at 4 am in the morning from Ternopil. The Indian Embassy had informed that Poland border is open and we can leave, but at the border we were stopped by the Ukrainian Army.”  “The temperature is three degrees. People are falling sick. When we called the Polish embassy, they asked us to call the Kiev Embassy which told us to coordinate with the Polish Embassy,” another student said. 

    ‘No one from embassy to coordinate’ The student rued that there was none from the Indian Embassy to coordinate with the Ukrainian authorities at the border. When contacted regarding the incidents, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi declined to comment

  • India’s non-permanent membership provides ‘much-needed’ balance at UNSC in 2021

    By PTI

    UNITED NATIONS: As India began her two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in January 2021, New Delhi’s presence at the horse-shoe table provided the “much-needed” balance at a time when the powerful organ of the world body grappled with major geo-political crises, including in war-torn Afghanistan.

    When India took up the seat at the 15-nation Council in the beginning of the year, the world was still reeling with the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged nations and slaughtered economies.

    Just as economies and nations were beginning to open up, the Omicron variant’s lightning-speed spread across the world has given more reason to worry.

    “I am deeply worried. If things do not improve – and improve fast – we face even harder times ahead. COVID-19 is not going away. It is becoming clear that vaccines alone will not eradicate the pandemic,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at his end of the year press conference recently.

    “Vaccines are averting hospitalisation and death for the majority who get them and slowing the spread. But transmissions show no sign of letting up. This is driven by vaccine inequity, hesitancy and complacency,” he said.

    With India wrapping up the first year of the two-year tenure as non-permanent member, the year saw New Delhi providing the “much-needed” balance vis-a-vis the powerful UN body’s five permanent members and their inter-se fissures.

    New Delhi has also been the bridge to ensure the Council’s polarisation does not affect its ability to take a well considered view.

    In his address to the high-level 76th UN General Assembly session in September, which reconvened in a physical format after going virtual last year due to Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that countries with “regressive thinking” that are using terrorism as a “political tool” must understand that it is an equally big threat for them also, in a veiled attack on Pakistan which is often accused by its neighbours of providing safe havens to terrorists.

    He also called for ensuring that no country “tries to take advantage of the delicate situation in Afghanistan and use it for its own selfish interests.”

    “It is very important to ensure that the soil of Afghanistan is not used for spreading terrorism and terrorist attacks,” he said.

    Modi also said that “When the right work is not done at the right time, time itself destroys the success of that work.

    “If the United Nations has to keep itself relevant, it has to improve its effectiveness, increase its reliability,” he said, adding that a number of questions are being raised at the UN today.

    “We have seen this during the Climate and Covid crisis. The ongoing proxy war in many parts of the world- terrorism and the crisis in Afghanistan have deepened these questions.”

    He gave a clarion call to “constantly strengthen the UN for the protection of the global order, global laws and global values.”

    When India assumed the rotating Presidency of the Council on August 1, not many had expected the unravelling of Afghanistan, which fell into the hands of the Taliban on August 15, leaving nations around the region and the world worried about the fate of the war-torn country and giving rise to fears that a seizure of power by the Taliban will erase the human rights gains of the past two decades.

    “We are in the Security Council at a very significant juncture where we are not only grappling with the unprecedented COVID pandemic, but also dealing with fissures, both in the Security Council and outside, which need to be bridged through greater collective action rather than individual initiatives,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti had told PTI.

    A country the size of India with its independent foreign policy has been a welcome entrant into the UN Security Council, providing the “much-needed” balance vis-a-vis the powerful UN body’s five permanent members and their inter-se fissures, he had said ahead of its Presidency of the Council in August.

    India said that as a neighbour of Afghanistan, the situation in the country is of “great concern” to it and hoped there is an inclusive dispensation, which represents all sections of Afghan society, underling that a “broader representation” would help the arrangement gain more acceptability and legitimacy.

    It was under India’s Presidency of the Council that the 15-nation body adopted a significant resolution demanding that territory of Afghanistan not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists and that it expects the Taliban will “adhere” to commitments made by it regarding the safe and orderly departure from the country of Afghans and all foreign nationals.

    This was the first resolution adopted by the powerful Council on the situation in Afghanistan following the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban and came on the penultimate day of India’s Presidency of the Security Council for the month of August.

    Tirumurti, in an explanation of vote in favour of a UN Security Council resolution to grant exemption from sanctions for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, reminded the Council that while the situation in Afghanistan is in flux, the expectations of the international community vis-a-vis Afghanistan were set out clearly in the Security Council resolution 2593.

    The UN Security Council, under India’s Presidency, also unanimously adopted two significant outcome documents on the issue of peacekeeping, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underlining that India believes in “walking the talk” when it comes to safety and security of UN peacekeepers.

    Jaishankar, as President of the Security Council in August, hosted an open-debate on peacekeeping under the theme of ‘Protecting the Protectors’.

    During the meeting, a Resolution on ‘Accountability of Crimes against UN Peacekeepers’ as well as Presidential Statement on ‘Technology for Peacekeeping’, the first such UN Security Council document on this topic, was adopted.

    The Resolution on accountability for crimes against UN Peacekeepers, drafted by India, was co-sponsored by all the members of the Security Council, and a total of over 80 UN Member States, signifying the support of the international community to the issue of peacekeeping, which India had highlighted as one of the priority areas during its Presidency of the 15-nation body.

    On the occasion, India in coordination with the UN also announced the roll-out of the UNITE Aware Platform, which Jaishankar said is an initiative “based on the expectation that an entire peacekeeping operation can be visualised, coordinated, and monitored on a real time basis.”

    “In August, the UNSC, led by India, underlined the primacy of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which sets out the legal framework applicable to activities in the oceas, including countering illicit activities at sea,” sending a strong message to China.

    In the Presidential Statement (PRST), adopted unanimously by the Security Council reaffirmed that “international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (UNCLOS), sets out the legal framework applicable to activities in the oceans, including countering illicit activities at sea.”

    This is highly significant since it marks the first ever outcome document by the UNSC on the issue of maritime security.

    Also for the first time in the PRST there are references to UNCLOS, a convention over which China has had long-standing reservations and objections.

    In 2016, an international tribunal ruled against China’s claims to rights in the disputed South China Sea.

    Beijing dismissed the ruling that favoured the Philippines and said it would not be bound by it.

    Modi also became the first Indian Prime Minister to preside over a UN Security Council Open Debate as he chaired the high-level session on ‘Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for International Cooperation’ on August 9.

  • SCO Summit: PM to raise terror, Afghanistan issues in presence of Imran

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will virtually attend the SCO meeting on September 16 and 17, is likely to raise the issue of terrorism in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    Sources said Modi will raise India’s concerns over terrorism and also name the Taliban. India have criticised the militant group at the UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council.

    According to sources, while highlighting India’s stand against terrorism, Modi will also speak about Islamabad with regards to the situation in Afghanistan.

    Apart from Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Imran, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders from central Asian countries will attend the meeting hosted by Tajikistan as the chair.

    The SCO is an eight-member bloc which includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

    The SCO summit comes after the bloc’s foreign ministers, defence ministers and national security advisors held a series of meetings.

    It is likely that a separate meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group would be held on the sidelines. The Afghanistan contact group meeting is likely to be attended by Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar.

    Meanwhile, India on Monday announced that the BRICS summit would be held on Sepatember 9.

    “The meeting will be attended by the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsanaro; President of Russia, Vladimir Putin; President of China, Xi Jinping; and President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, President of the New Development Bank, Marcos Troyjo, the pro tempore Chair of the BRICS Business Council,” said a statement.

  • Possible axis of China, Pakistan and Taliban cause for worry: Chidambaram

    His remarks came after the UN Security Council, under India #39;s Presidency, adopted a strong resolution demanding that the territory of Afghanistan not be used to threaten any country.

  • India and Russia agree to work closely on key issues at the UN Security Council

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India and Russia have agreed to work closely on key issues at the UN Security Council, in keeping with the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries.

    The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both sides held bilateral consultations in Moscow on Tuesday on issues which are on the agenda of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

    It said the Indian delegation at the director general-level meeting briefed the Russian side on India’s priorities during its UNSC tenure.

    “Both sides agreed to work closely together on key issues on the UNSC agenda, in keeping with the special and privileged strategic partnership,” the MEA said in a statement.

    India began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on January 1.

    In August, India is scheduled to serve as the president of the powerful UN body.

    The MEA said the two sides appreciated the intensive ongoing bilateral contacts on matters relating to the UN, including with respect to a wide range of issues on the UNSC agenda.

    Last week, India held similar discussions with China.

  • India, China discuss issues relating to United Nations Security Council

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India and China on Tuesday held discussions on a wide range of issues relating to the United Nations Security Council, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

    The MEA said the Chinese delegation was briefed about India’s priorities during its UNSC tenure in the meeting that took place in the virtual format.

    “Both sides discussed a wide range of issues on the UNSC agenda. The Indian delegation briefed the Chinese side on India’s priorities during its UNSC tenure,” the MEA said in a statement.

    It said both sides agreed to continue their engagement on key issues on the UNSC agenda.

    China is a permanent member of the UNSC while India began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member on January 1.

    In August, India is scheduled to serve as the president of the powerful UN body.

    The Indian delegation was headed by Prakash Gupta, joint secretary (UNP and Summits) in the MEA.

    The Indian team comprised officials from East Asia (EA) and UN Economic and Social (UNES) divisions of the MEA as well as from the India’s Permanent Mission in New York and Indian embassy in Beijing.

    The Chinese side at the meeting was led by Yang Tao, director general of the department of international organisations and conferences at the Chinese foreign ministry.

    India and China are locked in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5 last year.