During UNSC tenure, India had to stand alone but never let go of principles it believed in, says envoy

India

oi-PTI

New
Delhi,
Dec
23:
During
the
2021-22
tenure
as
non-permanent
member
of
the
UN
Security
Council,
there
were
instances
when
India
“had
to
stand
alone” but
it
did
not
let
go
of
the
principles
it
believed
in,
New
Delhi’s
envoy
here
has
said.

India
assumed
the
monthly
rotating
presidency
of
the
UN
Security
Council
(UNSC)
on
December
1,
the
second
time
in
its
two-year
tenure
as
an
elected
member
of
the
Council
in
2021-22.

India
had
earlier
assumed
UNSC
presidency
in
August
2021.

“During
the
last
two
years,
we
spoke
out
in
support
of
peace,
security
and
prosperity.
We
did
not
hesitate
in
raising
our
voice
against
the
common
enemies
of
humanity,
such
as
terrorism,”
India’s
Permanent
Representative
to
the
UN
and
President
of
the
15-nation
UN
Security
Council
for
the
month
of
December
Ambassador
Ruchira
Kamboj
said
Thursday.

In
a
wrap-up
briefing
for
non-members
of
the
Security
Council
on
its
work
for
the
month
of
December
before
the
holiday
week,
Kamboj
highlighted
the
“packed”
agenda
of
the
Council
for
the
month
under
India’s
presidency
as
well
as
signature
events
on
reformed
multilateralism
and
counter-terrorism
presided
over
by
External
Affairs
Minister
S
Jaishankar
last
week.

India,
China
and
Russia
abstain
on
UNSC
resolution
on
Myanmar

This
included
the
unveiling
of
the
bust
of
Mahatma
Gandhi
in
the
UN
and
launching
of
the
Group
of
Friends
to
promote
accountability
for
crimes
against
peacekeepers.

Kamboj
said
that
during
India’s
UNSC
tenure,
“there
were
instances
when
we
had
to
stand
alone.
But
the
alternative
in
those
instances
was
to
let
go
of
the
principles
we
genuinely
believe
in.”
She
said
in
instances
“where
we
had
genuine
differences”
with
some
Council
members,
such
as
on
the
issue
of
the
role
of
the
Security
Council
in
dealing
with
climate
change,
India’s
“opposition
was
based
on
principles.”
Kamboj
said
India
is
acutely
aware
of
the
fact
that
reform
of
the
Security
Council
is
the
need
of
the
hour.

“This
conviction
has
only
been
strengthened
after
our
tenure.
As
we
exit
the
Council
this
tenure,
we
remain
convinced
that
the
more
there
is
resistance
to
change,
the
more
the
danger
that
the
decisions
of
this
body
stand
the
risk
of
losing
relevance
and
credibility,”
she
said.

India
has
been
at
the
forefront
of
efforts
calling
for
urgent
reform
of
the
Security
Council,
which
has
remained
deeply
divisive
in
dealing
with
current
challenges.

India
has
asserted
that
the
Council,
in
its
current
form,
does
not
reflect
today’s
geo-political
realities
and
its
credibility
is
at
risk
if
nations
such
developing
powers
like
India
do
not
have
a
permanent
seat
at
the
horse-shoe
table.

Reflecting
on
India’s
tenure
in
the
Council
in
the
last
two
years,
Kamboj
told
the
UN
members
that
India
was
conscious
that
when
“we
spoke
in
the
Security
Council,
we
were
speaking
on
behalf
of
1.4
billion
Indians
or
1/6th
of
humanity.
But
we
are
also
conscious
of
the
fact
that
we
were
also
the
voice
of
the
global
South
during
our
tenure,
highlighting
issues
of
particular
importance
to
the
developing
world.”
“India
reiterated
and
reinforced
its
commitment
to
the
basic
principles
that
we
have
been
articulating,
even
when
outside
the
Council
–
multilateralism,
rule
of
law
and
a
fair
and
equitable
international
system,”
she
said.

At
UNSC
meet
on
Afghanistan,
India’s
strong
message
on
Pakistan
role

India
also
tried
to
bring
focus
on
issues,
which
it
believed
were
highly
important
and
should
receive
adequate
attention
from
the
Security
Council.

“Maritime
Security
was
the
best
example
where
until
not
too
long
ago,
the
Security
Council
was
focused
only
on
the
issue
of
piracy,
whereas
maritime
security
encompasses
far
larger
issues
as
well,”
she
noted.

She
stressed
that
as
a
large
troop
contributing
country,
India
also
brought
attention
to
the
peacekeeping
angle
and
piloted
resolution
2,589
which
calls
for
accountability
in
cases
of
crimes
against
peacekeepers.

Kamboj
thanked
the
UN
members
for
the
trust
they
reposed
in
electing
it
to
the
Security
Council
these
two
years.

She
recalled
that
before
India
entered
the
Council
on
January
1,
2021,
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
had
said
in
September
2020
that
India
will
use
the
prestige
and
experience
of
being
the
largest
democracy
in
the
world
for
the
benefit
of
the
whole
world.

While
more
than
a
week
is
left
for
India’s
presidency
of
the
Council
to
conclude,
Kamboj
said
the
Security
Council
has
exhausted
all
its
routine
and
mandated
meetings
for
the
month
and
the
wrap-up
session
was
held
to
brief
the
UN
member
states
on
the
work
during
the
month
before
the
holiday
week
begins.

On
the
open
debate
on
reformed
multilateralism,
Kamboj
said
it
was
clear
from
the
meeting
that
using
the
smokescreen
of
so-called
differences
in
position
to
stall
or
obstruct
even
the
launching
of
text
based
negotiations
for
reform
is
not
a
viable
tactic
anymore.

India
declares
candidature
for
UNSC
membership
for
2028-29
term

The
Presidential
Statement
adopted
after
the
second
signature
event
on
counterterrorism
urges
member
states
to
cooperate
fully
in
the
fight
against
terrorism
and
to
deny
safe
havens
for
the
perpetrators,
she
said.

During
the
month,
the
Council
had
important
discussions
relating
to
key
issues
including
Afghanistan,
Armenia,
Syria,
Haiti,
Ukraine,
the
Democratic
Republic
of
the
Congo.

”While
we
will
exit
the
Council,
Afghanistan
will
continue
to
remain
in
our
hearts,” Kamboj
added.