Yesterday, on Monday, Second Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Dinesh Setia said that the United Nations (U.N.) is procrastinating on arriving at a common definition of terrorism, during a UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) meeting to consider the report of the secretary-general on the organization’s work.
India stated that the UN’s failure to conclude a comprehensive convention on terrorism or to evolve a robust policy framework to tackle it represents a “failure” and a “crisis of legitimacy”. Setia said: “Our inability to seriously address terrorism, the most dangerous of scourges faced by states and societies since the World War II, casts doubt on the relevance of the organisation for the very people whom the Charter of the United Nations obliges us to protect”.
He stated further: “The United Nations has yet to agree on a common definition, let alone craft a coherent well-coordinated policy to tackle terrorism and dismantle its enabling networks. We have failed ourselves by continuing to procrastinate on concluding a comprehensive convention against international terrorism”.
Setia also said on behalf of India that the governance structures of “key organs” of the U.N. are not in step with modern times and needed reform. In this regard, Setia said: “India will continue to support the Secretary-General in the implementation of these initiatives, including through voluntary contributions, as appropriate”
Earlier, India had also urged that ‘Hinduphobia’, along with violence against Buddhists and Sikhs, also be recognized at an international level. It had also opposed expanding its definition to include “violent nationalism” and “right wing extremism”. India will preside over the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) of the United Nations Security Council this year and its remarks can be seen as indicative of the stance that it will take on these issues.
Latest Videos
