UN's Military Observer Group has become irrelevant: Tharoor

Describing the United Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOG) in India and Pakistan as an "open ended mission without an expiry date", Union Minister Shashi Tharoor today said it has become irrelevant now with New Delhi looking to solve Kashmir issue bilaterally.
"We have not been giving complaints to the UN observer group since the Simla agreement as we feel the issue should be resolved bilaterally and the reason our government has been talking to Pakistan is to make it something that can be solved bilaterally," the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development told reporters after a lecture "Peacemaker in need of Pacemaker?" organised to mark the 68th UN day.

UNMOG for India and Pakistan, which was formed in 1948 was the second oldest mission formed by the UN. Terming it as an "open ended mission without an expiry date", he said it can only be closed if India and Pakistan mutually agree to it.
"At that time it (the UN) did not have established procedures. Today, we see missions with a mandate of six months or a year and it has to be renewed. This mission has not been renewed since 1972 Simla agreement. Unfortunately this mission was set up under different provisions in 1948," he said.
Despite the UN role's in failing to curb the crisis like the one in Syria and in Rawanda, he made a strong case stating that the UN is still relevant to the world as it was in 1945 because of its humanitarian work.

"There is a case for reviving the entire architecture of the international system that was built in 1945," he said.

He, however, strongly advocated for reforms within the international body and stressed on reforming the UN Security Council.
Referring to the expansion of the Security Council, he said, "Its a place where one or the two members disagree with the rest....Where all bunch of doctors gather to treat a patient and they all agree on the diagnosis, but can not agree on the prescription."
He added that aspects like International policing and intelligence gathering at the UN level were not taking place. Actions on these aspects were desired, but required to be aided by political consensus.