Challenges at security council helm

August is traditionally considered a vacation month in the United States, but it would be no holiday for India at the United Nations in New York, as it assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council for the month.

An immediate challenge would be the situation in Libya. In March, India was among the five countries that abstained from voting on a UNSC resolution imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. The top military official of the US recently described NATO’s military campaign in that country against its leader Col. Gadhafi as having reached a “stalemate”.

In an interview with Business Standard, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Hardeep Puri, said Libya would be a priority. “As we take up the presidency of the Council, we will keep a constant vigil on the developments there especially since August also coincides with the holy month of Ramadan,” said Puri.

The diplomat said there was a “clear appreciation of India’s principled positions” in the Security Council on recent issues relating to Libya, Sudan and West Asia, among others. The presidency of the UNSC would involve enhanced co-ordination with the UN Secretary General on matters of international peace and security, Puri pointed out, and India hopes to leverage its higher profile to its advantage on important issues like the UNSC reform process.

Asked about the prospects for progress on UNSC reforms at this year’s UN General Assembly in September, Puri said he was optimistic due to positive signs from African nations. “In recent months, we have been able to enhance our convergences on this issue with the African Group, which in and of itself is already a major development in the current General Assembly session,” he said.

Puri also pointed out India, along with the other G4 countries of Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as the L69 group, had started lobbying a few months ago on a short resolution that called for expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories of the Security Council, and said this now had the support of a “large majority of UN member states cutting across different regional groupings”.