Page 2 - Un Security Council

India presents extensive model on behalf of G4 nations for UNSC reform

India has presented a detailed model on behalf of the G4 nations for Security Council reform that includes new permanent members elected democratically by the General Assembly and displays flexibility on the veto issue. Participating in the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform (IGN) on Thursday, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said the UN's 80th anniversary next year serves as a milestone to achieve concrete progress on the long-pending subject. Kamboj presented the G-4 model' on behalf of Brazil, Germany, Japan and India for debate, dialogue and finally negotiations. The proposals elicited strong support from wider UN members. The realities of 1945, when the Council was established, have long been superseded by the geo-political realities of the modern era and a new century; with the need for change being felt across the board, Kamboj said as she shared the exhaustive G4 model with UN Member States in the General ...

US preparing UNSC resolution to warn against nuclear weapons in space

The Security Council is already set to discuss nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation in a meeting on March 18

Global goals for Afghanistan aligns with India's priorities: Ambassador

India's envoy to the UN has said that the overall objective of the global community in Afghanistan aligns with New Delhi's priorities in the war-torn nation, including the need to combat terrorism. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, told the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan on Wednesday that New Delhi pays close attention to the situation in the country, which has a direct impact on us". "Our objective is to establish long-term peace, security and stability in Afghanistan, Kamboj said, as she told the top organ of the United Nations that India participated actively in the recent meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan held in Qatar. "The overall objective of the vast majority of the international community aligns with India's priorities with respect to Afghanistan," she said. "These include the need to counter terrorism, bring in inclusive governance, safeguard the rights and interests of women, children and minorities, counter-narcoti

US warns against Israeli assault on Rafah in draft UN Security Council text

The US has so far been reluctant to back cease-fire proposals in the four-month old conflict, though it has tried to broker a deal under which Hamas would release hostages from Gaza

Taliban has set 'unacceptable' terms for meeting, says UN secy general

The Taliban set unacceptable conditions for attending a UN-sponsored meeting about Afghanistan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday. Taliban demands included the exclusion of Afghan civil society members from the talks in Doha, Qatar, and treatment that amounted to official recognition of the Taliban as the country's legitimate rulers, Guterres said at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Qatar. The Taliban seized power in 2021, as US and NATO forces withdrew following two decades of war. No country recognises them as Afghanistan's government, and the UN has said that recognition is almost impossible while bans on female education and employment remain in place. The two-day meeting in Doha brought together member states and special envoys. But the Taliban didn't attend because their demands had not been met. I received a letter (from the Taliban) with a set of conditions to be present in this meeting that were not acceptable, Guterres told a news conference. These .

India will surely get UN Security Council seat but not easily: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Saturday that he was 100 per cent confident that India will get a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council but it won't be easy as there are a lot of countries who want to "block us". Jaishankar, who is here to attend the two-day Indian Ocean Conference, said he sees the change as to how differently the world looks at India now as he goes around the world. "We will get there. I am 100 per cent certain we will get there. But I will also tell you that honestly, we will not get it easily because the world is full of competition," he said in response to a question at an interaction with the Indian community here. "Some will try to block us, will make that passage difficult or put some kind of obstacles, some kind of argument in the way," he said, without naming any country. But I'm confident we will get there and I'm more confident today than I was five years ago or 10 years ago," the external affairs minister said. "As I go

UN to vote on resolution demanding halt to attacks on vessels in Red Sea

The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Wednesday on a resolution that would condemn and demand an immediate halt to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea area. The U.S. draft resolution, obtained late Tuesday by The Associated Press, says at least two dozen Houthi attacks are impeding global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security. The Iranian-backed Houthis, who have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognized government since 2014, have said they launched the attacks with the aim of ending Israel's devastating air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. It was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel which killed about 1,200 people and led to some 250 others being taken hostage. Israel's three-month assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to th

US flies long-range bomber for joint drills with South Korea, Japan

The United States flew a long-range bomber for joint drills with South Korea and Japan on Wednesday in a show of force against North Korea, days after the North performed its first interconnectional ballistic missile test in five months. The trilateral training off South Korea's southern island of Jeju was meant to strengthen the countries' joint response against North Korean nuclear threats, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The exercise involved a B-1B bomber and South Korean and Japanese fighter jets, the statement said. It said the B-1B's flyover is the 13th time that a US bomber has been temporarily deployed near and over the Korean Peninsula this year. A B-1B is capable of carrying a large conventional weapons payload. North Korean has previously called the bomber's deployment a proof of US hostility and had reacted with missile tests. North Korea on Monday launched a Hwasong-18 ICBM into the sea in a drill it said was meant as a warning over the US and

UN Security Council caught in concerning state of paralysis: UNGA chief

The UN Security Council is caught in a "concerning state of paralysis" and aims to serve the predominance of Global North countries, UNGA President Dennis Francis has said, underlining the need for representation and equitable participation of developing nations in decision-making in a reformed Council. Underlining that reform is our collective task and responsibility, Francis said that as the President of the 78th session of the General Assembly, he believes that we need a Council that is more balanced, representative, responsive, democratic and transparent. As conflicts seem to be spreading across the globe, the Security Council whose primary responsibility is to maintain international peace and security, however, seems caught in a concerning state of paralysis, Francis said. With its unsatisfactory discharge of its crucial mandate, the Council is perceived as falling short of its mandate, consequently, compromising the credibility of the entire UN itself, he said. Francis was ..

US vetoes UN Security Council demand for humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza

The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution Friday backed by almost all other Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. Supporters called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the war goes into its third month. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood criticized the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israel's right to defend itself. He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and "only plant the seeds for the next war." "Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution," Wood said before the vote. For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can

Assets of those named by UNSC for terror funding to be frozen within 24 hrs

Financial sanctions against entities named by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for their links to terrorism and terror financing should be imposed "without delay" and within 24 hours under the UAPA and a law against use of weapons of mass destruction, the government has directed regulatory and probe agencies. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the federal agency tasked to detect money laundering and black money in the country's economic channels, has been made the nodal agency for identifying, notifying and initiating legal action against such entities under section 12A of The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005, also known as the WMD Act. India, as per official records, enacted the law as per its commitment to the country specific efforts under UNSC resolution 1718 (2006) and 2231 (2015), and their successor resolutions, as mandated under section 2 of United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1947. The ...

Women are agents of social change and social cohesion: India at UNSC

India also went on to mention that the under-representation of women in the peace process and political dialogue and called for overcoming the issue to ensure sustainable peace

Civilian casualties in Israel-Palestine conflict serious concern: India

India has voiced deep concern over the deteriorating security situation and large-scale loss of civilian life in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, urging the parties to work towards creating conditions necessary for peace and restarting direct negotiations through de-escalation and ending violence. The remarks by India's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, Ambassador R Ravindra, came on Tuesday at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East. India is deeply concerned at the deteriorating security situation and large-scale loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict. The mounting humanitarian crisis is equally alarming, Ravindra said. He said the escalation of hostilities in the region has only exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation and has once again underscored the fragile nature of the ceasefire. Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. All parties must protect civilians, especially women

Will treat Pak's Kashmir reference at UNSC with contempt it deserves: India

India has said it will treat a reference by Pakistan to Kashmir during a Security Council meeting on the Israel-Gaza situation with the contempt it deserves and will not dignify it with a response. The remarks by India's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, Ambassador R Ravindra, came on Tuesday after Pakistan's UN envoy Munir Akram made reference to Kashmir at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East. Before I end, there was a remark of habitual nature by one delegation referring to Union Territories that are integral and inalienable parts of my country, Ravindra said. I would treat these remarks with contempt they deserve and not dignify them with a response in the interest of time, Ravindra said. Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Security Council meeting that all acts of terrorism are unlawful and unjustifiable, whether they are carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based terror outfit, or by Hamas, targeting people in ..

Sent 38 tons of humanitarian goods to Palestinian people: India at UNSC

"The escalation of our utilities in the region has only exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation," he said, adding, "It has once again underscored the fragile nature of the ceasefire"

UN Security Council, minus China, Russia condemns Myanmar military actions

Members of the U.N. Security Council minus China and Russia condemned the unrelenting violence and killing of civilians in Myanmar and again urged its military rulers to stop attacks, release ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and respect human rights. Thirteen of the 15 council members on Wednesday backed a joint statement that said there had been insufficient progress on implementing the first-ever Security Council resolution on Myanmar that was adopted last December. In that 12-0 vote, China and Russia, which have ties to the military that seized power from Suu Kyi's elected civilian government in February 2021, abstained along with India whose two-year term on the council has ended. Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador James Kariuki read the statement, flanked by diplomats from the other countries, after the council was briefed at a closed meeting by U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths on his recent visit to Myanmar and by Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari on efforts to ..

UN council to hold first meeting on potential threats of AI to global peace

The UN Security Council will hold a first-ever meeting on the potential threats of artificial intelligence to international peace and security, organised by the United Kingdom which sees tremendous potential but also major risks about AI's possible use for example in autonomous weapons or in control of nuclear weapons. UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward on Monday announced the July 18 meeting as the centerpiece of its presidency of the council this month. It will include briefings by international AI experts and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who last month called the alarm bells over the most advanced form of AI deafening, and loudest from its developers. These scientists and experts have called on the world to act, declaring AI an existential threat to humanity on a par with the risk of nuclear war, the U.N. chief said. Guterres announced plans to appoint an advisory board on artificial intelligence in September to prepare initiatives that the U.N. can take. He also said he would

UK calls for UN reform with permanent Security Council seat for India

The UK government has reiterated its call for reform of the United Nations as one of its top transnational priorities and supported India's bid for permanent membership of the powerful Security Council. India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UN Security Council (UNSC), saying it rightly deserved a place as a permanent member of the United Nations. Currently, the UNSC has five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. Only a permanent member has the power to veto any substantive resolution. In a speech at a conference at the Chatham House think tank in London on Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for a reinvigorated multilateral system that is more reflective of the times. He pointed out that the world's economic centre of gravity is shifting away from the Euro-Atlantic and towards the Indo-Pacific but the multilateral institutions are yet to catch up. I have five transnational priorities. First, reform of the .

India criticises delay in negotiations over UN Security Council reforms

As the UN General Assembly decided to roll over the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on Security Council reform to its next session, India has termed it as yet another wasted opportunity and said the process could well go on for another 75 years without achieving genuine progress. The UN General Assembly Thursday adopted a draft oral decision to continue the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly that will commence in September. The rollover decision marked the end of the IGN for the current 77th session. India's Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj underscored that the roll-over decision of the IGN simply cannot be reduced to a mindless technical exercise. We see this technical rollover decision as yet another wasted opportunity to instil a breath of life into a process that has shown no signs of life or growth in over four decades, Kamboj said adding that India joined the consensus in the ...

UNSC needs better reps including countries like India: UNGA Chief

Korosi stated that in the past when the UNSC was made at that time India was not among the "biggest ones." He further added that UNSC will reform