The choice of the next SG will determine whether the UN regains relevance or slides further into insignificance. A woman leader would not only break a glass ceiling; it would show the UN retains the capacity for renewal. A male candidate seen as a P5 compromise would confirm fears that global leadership remains a private club for the powerful.
A revised version presented on 1 October reflects the Western double standards and the continuous desire of the UNHRC to bend over backwards to please the West. The most shocking aspect is that the recommendations in the report were made without consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka.
Op Sindoor was motivated by the Security Council statement on “the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors” of the Pahalgam attack accountable and it targeted terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
Rulers and decision makers must deter aggression and a calculated pursuit of violence in today's world” by nations “impelled by political goals such as territorial expansion or domination, or by deviant nonstate actors and terrorists who sow fear and destruction due to their deviant belief systems”, he said.
When asked about the Mumbai 26/11 attackers who came from Pakistan and the presence of internationally declared terrorists like Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of that attack, and even Osama bi Laden in his country, his response was: “You know this is the kind of discussion I would like to avoid”.
India on principle would be opposed to a meeting of the Council on the issue because it considers that disputes with Pakistan are bilateral matters under the 1972 Simla Agreement between its leaders and there should be no third-party involvement. However, the Council is empowered under the UN Charter to convene a meeting on the issue.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told a TV outlet that there was “an immediate threat” of a confrontation
Pakistan, which is on the Council as an elected member, went along with the sentiments of other members in endorsing the statement, committing itself – at least on paper – to bringing those involved to justice
Amnesty International has documented the massacre of about 100 Hindus by ARSA at Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik in Rakhine State in August 2017. It said that there were other killings of Hindus and abduction of Hindu women whose lives were spared when they agreed to convert to Islam. The massacre of Hindus took place on August 17 before ARSA launched a coordinated attack on several Myanmar security posts on August 25, setting off retaliatory attacks by Myanmar forces on Rohingya.
In keeping with the day’s theme, Harish also said, “We stand united with the UN membership in condemning incidents of religious intolerance against Muslims”. “With over 200 million of its citizens practicing Islam, India is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the world”, he asserted.
Guterres, in his letter and the address to the General Assembly, did not mention the reform of the Security Council whose structure is ossified in post-World War II geopolitics that shut out all of Africa, Latin America and most of Asia from permanent membership.
“The plight of the Rohingyas is something that is extremely close to his heart”, having “dealt directly with the Rohingya crisis” while in that office, he said.
India made six abstentions — that is not taking any sides - on the resolutions proposed by the US and by Ukraine as well as on one amendment moved by Russia to the Ukraine-sponsored resolution and on the three amendments sponsored by France and others to the US resolutions.
“GDP in Bhutan and Nepal is projected to grow by over 5 per cent in 2025, but the economy of Bangladesh is expected to slow following unrest in mid-2024 and lingering political uncertainty”, it said
Now Islamabad will not have to rely on Beijing to protect its terrorists like the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Sajid Mir, at the Islamic State and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, which designates individuals and groups associated with those two organisations as terrorists and imposes sanctions.
The General Assembly adopted by acclamation on December 6 the resolution moved by a core group of India, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mexico, and Andorra, and joined by many others to declare the Winter Solstice Day the World Meditation Day.
The resumption of the regular high-level meeting followed an agreement between Prime Minister Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia in October.
UNSRC President Peter Dawkins said that through the exhibition they want to highlight Vivekananda’s relevance to “the core values and purposes and mission of the United Nations”.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes “good neighbourly relations” between India and China will be strengthened following their agreement on border de-escalation, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday.“We certainly welcome any positive engagement between the nations of China and India, and we hope that process of good neighborly relations will be strengthened”, he said.
