India And United Nations

Indian peacekeeper serving with the UN mission in Lebanon, Major Abhilasha Barak, has been named the recipient of a prestigious military gender advocate award by the world body. Barak has been honoured with the 2025 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for her outreach efforts with women and girls during her deployment in the West Asian nation. "Proud to announce that Major Abhilasha Barak has been awarded the 2025 @UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. She is being recognised for her outreach and community engagement activities for women and adolescent girls and gender sensitisation training for peacekeepers," the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a post on X Friday. Barak is serving with the Indian Battalion as the Commander of the Female Engagement Team (FET) in UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). She is also the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army. She will be honoured at the UN headquarters when the world body ...

India abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution calling on countries to comply with their obligations on climate change, voicing concern that the draft "undermines" the "sacrosanct architecture" of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The resolution was adopted in the 193-member General Assembly on Wednesday with 141 votes in favour, eight against and 28 abstentions, including by India. India said it had engaged constructively during negotiations on the resolution and clarified its concerns and positions at every stage. "We are therefore disappointed that our concerns were not addressed, despite our best efforts to find common ground," it said. In the Explanation of Vote, First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN, Petal Gahlot, said adoption of the resolution by the General Assembly does not create binding commitments for India. "Our obligations arise only from outcomes adopted under the UNFCCC process. Hence, in line with our sta

India called out Pakistan's "long-tainted" record of genocidal acts, telling the UN Security Council that the country's inhuman conduct reflects its attempts over decades to externalise internal failures through acts of violence within and beyond its border. Speaking at the Annual UNSC Open Debate on 'Protection of civilians in armed conflict' on Wednesday, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni said, "It is ironic that Pakistan, with its long-tainted record of genocidal acts, has chosen to refer to issues that are strictly internal to India." Parvathaneni's remarks came after Pakistan's representative raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the debate. Raising the issue of Pakistan's strikes on Afghanistan earlier this year, he said, "The world has not forgotten that it was during the holy month of Ramadan in March this year, at a time of peace, reflection, and mercy, that Pakistan conducted a barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment ..

India has adopted a "holistic approach" to migration governance that places the welfare, protection and empowerment of emigrants at its core, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh has said. Addressing a special event organised by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN on Thursday on the margins of the second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), Singh highlighted India's "pioneering" digital initiative aimed at facilitating mobility and protection of its migrants. "The Indian migration story is both vast and dynamic. We have a diaspora of over 34 million people spread all across the globe, encompassing more than 200 countries, and our global community has served to connect economies, cultures and ideas through many centuries," he said. Singh said the contribution of the Indian diaspora through remittances, investments and knowledge exchange continues to play a vital role not only in India's development but also in the countries they've integrated ...

India's economy is projected to grow at 6.4 per cent this year and 6.6 per cent in 2027, according to a report by the United Nations. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in the report released Monday that economies in South and South-West Asia grew by 5.4% in 2025, compared to 5.2% in 2024, driven largely by strong growth in India. India's growth edged up to 7.4% in 2025, "supported by robust consumption, especially from the rural economy along with goods and services tax rate cuts, and export frontloading ahead of the United States' tariffs," the report, titled Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2026, said. It said in India, economic activities moderated in the second half of 2025 as exports to the United States declined by 25 per cent following the introduction of 50 per cent tariffs in August 2025. The services sector remained a key growth driver. The report projected India to register a 6.4 per cent growth rate

Issues related to United Nations peacekeeping were among the key topics discussed during a meeting between senior Indian and UN officials here, the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations said on Tuesday. The meeting was held between Sibi George, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. Gorge and Khiari held a "productive discussion on various topics, with particular focus on UN peacekeeping", the mission said in a social media post. According to the UN India website, India is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions. More than 275,000 Indian troops have served under the UN flag since 1948.

India termed the targeting of commercial shipping during the West Asia conflict as deplorable, strongly urging that unimpeded freedom of navigation and global commerce through the Strait of Hormuz be restored at the earliest. "An aspect of particular concern for India for its energy and economic security relates to commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni said in the UN General Assembly on Thursday. "India has deplored the fact that commercial shipping was made a target of military attacks in this conflict," Parvathaneni said. India reiterated that the targeting of commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding the freedom of navigation and commerce in the Strait of Hormuz, are unacceptable. Underscoring that international law in this regard must be fully respected, Parvathaneni said India strongly urges that safe and unimpeded freedom of navigation and glo

India has asserted that any reform of the United Nations Security Council not accompanied by expansion in the permanent category with veto would perpetuate existing imbalance and inequities in the UN organ. Addressing the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) meeting on Security Council reforms on Tuesday, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish also noted that consideration of a new category, with or without veto, would "complicate" an already existing discussion that involves wide-ranging views. "There are two fundamental aspects that result in an imbalanced structure and lack of legitimacy and non-representativeness of the UN Security Council these are the membership; and veto. "There is broad agreement on the dire need to reform the UN Security Council. It is evident that a structure designed more than 80 years ago does not meet the requirements of the current geo-political realities," Harish said. The Indian envoy recalled that the sole refor

The conflict and military escalation in West Asia threatens to push 2.5 million people in India into poverty and the country is projected to experience some loss in its human development progress, according to estimates and projections by the United Nations. The United Nations Development Programme, in a report titled 'Military Escalation In The Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia And The Pacific' noted that the conflict is "widening human development pressures across Asia and the Pacific. Through higher fuel, freight, and input costs, the shock is diminishing household purchasing power, raising food insecurity, straining public budgets, and weakening livelihoods." The preliminary assessment, issued Tuesday, estimates that globally 8.8 million people are at risk of falling into poverty and the West Asia military escalation could cost Asia-Pacific up to USD 299 billion. In India, poverty is expected to rise from around 400,000 to 2.5 million, the report said. It adde

According to a statement issued by UNIFIL, the incident occurred near Bani Hayyan in Southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of two peacekeepers, while a third one sustained severe injuries

India called out Pakistan for its habit of "fabricating imaginative" tales of Islamophobia in neighbouring countries, questioning how Islamabad's own brutal repression of Ahmadiyyas or air-bombing campaigns during Ramzan against Afghanistan can be characterised as. "India's western neighbour is an excellent example of fabricating imaginative tales of Islamophobia in their neighbourhood," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said. "One wonders what would brutal repression of Ahmadiyyas in this country be termed, or the large-scale refoulement of the helpless Afghans or air-bombing campaigns in this Holy Month of Ramadan?" Harish said. Harish was addressing the UN General Assembly commemoration of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia on Monday. In a strong retort, he also said that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which "our western neighbour has systematically attempted to weaponise against India", has repeatedly made false and ..

Other abstaining nations included Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States

India's permanent contribution to the agenda of the international community and that of the UN is of "enormous importance for us", the UN chief has said, as he pointed to a "positive mega trend" of the increasingly enhanced roles of developing economies like India in the world. These remarks were made by Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who will be heading to New Delhi to attend the India AI Impact Summit, the first-ever summit on Artificial Intelligence hosted in the Global South. "India became an extremely important leader in the discussions on all aspects of the activities of the UN, in peace and security, sustainable development, where I remember the G20 presided by India, the very important decisions that were taken there," Guterres told PTI in an exclusive interview here. "And also in human rights as a democratic country in a world where, unfortunately, we see democracy in trouble in so many parts of the world," Guterres said. To a question on India's role at the UN, Guter

India called out Pakistan for misusing UN platforms to drive its divisive agenda after Islamabad's envoy raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in the General Assembly. Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Eldos Mathew Punnoose on Thursday said that the right to self-determination must not be abused to encourage secession in pluralistic and democratic states. At a time when member states have to rise beyond their narrow considerations, Pakistan continues to misuse all platforms and processes in the UN to drive their divisive agenda, Punnoose said. "This forum is no exception either and Pakistan made an unwarranted reference to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, an integral and inalienable part of India, Punnoose said, while delivering the national statement at the UN General Assembly Plenary on 'Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organisation'. The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle enshrined in the UN Charter. However, th

In a first, UN chief has issued his New Year's message for the year 2026 in Hindi, among other languages, calling on world leaders today to invest in development, not destruction. Antonio Guterres' New Year message has been issued in 11 languages, including in the six official UN languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish as well as Hindi and Urdu. His video message on the occasion has been issued with Hindi subtitles as well. In an urgent appeal for the new year, Secretary-General Guterres called on world leaders today to get priorities straight and invest in development, not destruction. As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads. Chaos and uncertainty surround us, Guterres said in his message for 2026 Monday. People everywhere are asking: Are leaders even listening? Are they ready to act? He said the scale of human suffering in the world today is staggering - over one-quarter of humanity lives in areas affected by conflict. More than 20

The UN marked its 80th anniversary in 2025 amid global conflicts, financial crisis, and US President Donald Trump's criticism, as India urged the world body to focus on "leadership and hope" and expressed willingness to take on a greater role. The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, along with several others around the world from Sudan to Myanmar, raged unabated in 2025, yet again highlighting the ineptitude of the UN and its powerful, but polarised, Security Council in addressing global challenges. As nations continue to grapple with humanitarian emergencies, climate chaos and economic inequality, questions are raised over the relevance of the UN and whether the 80-year-old organisation, founded in 1945, has solutions for the problems of a world in flux in the 21st century. Against this backdrop, India gave a clarion call for reformed multilateralism. Addressing world leaders from the UN General Assembly podium in September, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed that an ...

In a sharp retort, India ripped through Pakistan's "divisive agenda" at the UN Security Council, calling out Islamabad's unique way of respecting the will of its people by jailing a prime minister and giving lifetime immunity to its army chief. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, delivered a strong response in the Security Council on Monday after Pakistan's Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad raised the issues of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty during an open debate on 'Leadership for Peace'. "Pakistan's unwarranted reference to Jammu and Kashmir in today's open debate attests to its obsessive focus on harming India and its people. A serving non-permanent Security Council Member that chooses to further this obsession in all meetings and platforms of the UN in pursuit of its divisive agenda cannot be expected to fulfil its designated responsibilities and obligations. Let me be clear -- India will counter Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in

India on Monday (local time) delivered a stinging rebuttal to Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on "Leadership for Peace", firmly rejecting Islamabad's claims over Jammu and Kashmir's "unresolved disputes" as "unwarranted", reiterating that the Union Territory along with Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India, and emphasising that they "were, are, and will always remain so."Referring to Pakistan's comments during the debate, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, labelled Pakistan as the "global epicentre of terror" while calling it out for using the UN platform to further its "obsessive focus on harming India and its people."He added that Pakistan, pursuing a divisive agenda, undermines its international responsibilities as a non-permanent UNSC member."I refer to the statement made by the representative of Pakistan today. India would like to reiterate that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and ..