Concluding on a high note, in Manhattan – India’s UNSC Membership | 21st March 2023 | UPSC Daily Editorial Analysis

Context:

• India concluded its eighth stint in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at the end of December 2022. And, by any yardstick, its two-year stint has been unprecedented.
• In this article, the writer talks about India's accomplishments during this term of UNSC membership.

What is the UN Security Council?

• The UN Security Council is the premier global body for maintaining International peace and security.
• It is the United Nations’ principal crisis-management body and is empowered to impose binding obligations on the 193 UN member states to maintain peace.
• The UN Security Council is composed of 15 members as follows:
  • Five permanent member states – China, France, Russian Federation, the United States, and the United Kingdom – and
  • 10 non-permanent member states, which are elected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• Ten non-permanent members are elected to the UNSC every year for a two-year term.
• The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed among the regions of the world:
  • five seats for African and Asian countries (three are for Africa and two for Asia),
  • one for Eastern European countries,
  • two for Latin American and Caribbean countries, and
  • the remaining two for Western European and other countries.

India at UNSC:

• India has earlier been a non-permanent member of the UNSC in 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.
• This was India’s eighth term. (2021-22).

Analysis: India hit the following milestones during this term.

• Focus areas:  maritime security, terrorism, UN peacekeeping, reformed multilateralism and the Global South
• India was elected Chair of three important UNSC Committees:
  • the Taliban Sanctions Committee, Libyan Sanctions Committee and Counter-terrorism Committee.
• Maritime security:
  • The Prime Minister of India chaired for the first time a UNSC meeting on maritime security.
  • The Presidential Statement issued was the first holistic document on this issue which, for the first time, had a direct reference to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as international law setting out the legal framework in the context of maritime activities.
  • It also called for, inter alia, freedom of navigation, anti-piracy and combating terror and transnational crime at sea.
• Conflicts:
  • Old conflicts on the UNSC agenda festered and new conflicts were added — Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mali or Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Haiti, Libya, the Sahel, and of course Ukraine.
  • The Council stood polarised, unable to act decisively. India strove to bring them on the same page.
• Myanmar issue:
  • The Permanent-5 (P-5) were pulling in opposing directions while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counselled caution.
  • India ensured balanced and comprehensive Council pronouncements, which finally culminated in a resolution on Myanmar (adopted under our presidency) in December 2022.
• Afghanistan issue:
  • India was able to steer the negotiations which resulted in UNSC Resolution 2593 laying down benchmarks: on stopping cross-border terrorism from Afghan soil, including from proscribed UN terrorist entities in Pakistan; protecting the rights of women, minorities and children; ensuring an inclusive government, and providing humanitarian assistance.
• Ukraine conflict:
  • India’s independent stand calling for dialogue and peace struck a chord with many developing countries, since they themselves were affected by unilateral sanctions. All levers were being weaponised.
  • India spoke out against such sanctions inter alia on oil, food and fertilizers.
• Terrorism:
  • As Chair of the UNSC Counter-terrorism Committee (CTC), we brought the CTC meeting to India in October 2022.
  • While India’s attempt to list terrorists under UNSC Resolution 1267 sanctions (along with the U.S.) was thwarted, in a significant development, the proposal to list Abdul Rehman Makki, Deputy Amir/Chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba was approved by the UNSC. This listing was the first, with India as a proposer.
• Peacekeeping:
  • India has been the largest contributor of UN peacekeepers, including as a pioneer in women peacekeeping.
  • Its launching of the UNITE Aware technology platform to strengthen real-time protection of peacekeepers is to be noted.
  • In August 2021, we piloted the first UNSC resolution by India in more than five decades, calling for accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
  • We gifted two lakh vaccines to all UN peacekeepers.
• Climate Change:
  • In December 2021, we thwarted a move by the West to wrest climate change from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change-led process and bring it under the ambit of the UNSC, where the P-5 are also major historical polluters.
  • A change in the climate change architecture would have shut out the voice of the Global South, especially Small Island Developing States.
• Religiophobia:
  • In a first, India also raised the issue of a contemporary form of religiophobia in the Council when, while condemning phobia against Abrahamic religions, it forcefully put forth the need to combat rising hate crimes and phobias against non-Abrahamic religions as well.
  • With hate crimes being fuelled abroad by vested interests, India’s stand needs to be robustly taken forward.

Way Forward:

• The culmination was a discussion under India’s Presidency on the need for immediate reform of the Council.
• The Indian team’s performance over two years is testimony to why India needs to be at the horseshoe table permanently.