India’s month-long presidency of powerful UNSC ends with ‘substantive’ outcomes on key global issues

PTI, Sep 1, 2021, 2:03 PM IST

India’s month-long presidency of the powerful UN Security Council has ended with substantive outcomes on key global issues including a strong resolution on the situation in Afghanistan that reflected India’s views and concerns, and demanded that the Afghan territory not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists.

India, currently serving a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council, assumed the rotating Presidency of the UN body for the month of August.

The presidency ended with the first resolution being adopted by the council on the situation in Afghanistan following the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban on the penultimate day of India’s Presidency of the Security Council for the month of August.

“As we wind down our presidency of UN #SecurityCouncil, we thank all colleagues in #UNSC for their tremendous support to make our Presidency a success with many substantive outcomes,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti tweeted on Tuesday.

“I &@IndiaUNNewYork wish incoming presidency @irishmissionun & Amb Geraldine Nason all success,” he said.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield congratulated India for a successful presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of August. “Your leadership and resilience saw us through many challenging issues—especially the situation in Afghanistan,” she said.

“Thanks to @IndiaUNNewYork for a successful presidency during August. Highlights included: meeting on maritime security chaired by PM @narendramodi; and focus on peacekeeping & technology, and on counter-terrorism. Which can only mean 1 thing. We are up next,” Ireland’s mission to the UN said.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla chaired the UNSC meeting on Afghanistan in which the resolution was adopted. “I was in particular very happy to preside over the adoption of today’s important resolution on Afghanistan, which has unequivocally conveyed that Afghanistan’s territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter, train terrorists or plan or finance terrorist acts. It underlines terrorist individuals and entities designated by UN Security Council [resolution] 1267. This is of direct importance to India,” Shringla said on Monday.

Under India’s presidency, the council held three sessions on Afghanistan and issued three press statements on August 3, 16 and 27, the last one strongly condemning the “deplorable attacks” near the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 26.

On the penultimate day of India’s presidency, the council issued the strong resolution on Afghanistan “demands that Afghan territory not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts, and reiterates the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan, including those individuals and entities designated pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999)”, and notes the Taliban’s relevant commitments.

India began its presidency with a high-level signature event on maritime security presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Tirumurti describing it as path-breaking in many ways since this was the first time the Prime Minister of India chaired the Security Council.

The event was the first time when there was a comprehensive debate on the holistic concept of maritime security.

There was also a presidential statement on maritime security which incidentally was also the first presidential statement on the concept.