Ahead of Security Council election, India stresses on ‘dialogue, mutual respect’
The non-permanent Security Council seat will have a two-year term beginning January 2021. India's victory is certain as it is the sole candidate vying for the lone seat from the Asia-Pacific grouping.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (File Photo)
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Ahead of the elections for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat, India on Friday said it will work towards a comprehensive approach to peace and security, “guided by dialogue, mutual respect and commitment to international law”. This statement is part of a document spelling out the country’s priorities ahead of the elections scheduled for June 17. The approach is being perceived as a veiled reference to China amid the tension at the Line of Actual Control at Ladakh.
Releasing the document, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday outlined several challenges to international peace: “The normal process of international governance has been under increasing strain as frictions have increased; traditional and non-traditional security challenges continue to grow unchecked; global institutions remain unreformed and under-representative; and the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic repercussions will test the world like never before.”
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“In this extraordinary situation, India can play a positive global role. We have always been a voice of reason and a votary of international law. We advocate dialogue, consultation and fairness in our approach to global issues,” Jaishankar said.
The non-permanent Security Council seat will have a two-year term beginning January 2021. India’s victory is certain as it is the sole candidate vying for the lone seat from the Asia-Pacific grouping.
Its candidature was unanimously endorsed in June last year by the 55 members of the regional grouping, including China and Pakistan.
Jaishankar also laid out India’s “Five-S” approach to the world: Samman (Respect), Samvad (Dialogue), Sahyog (Cooperation), and Shanti (Peace); to create conditions for universal Samriddhi (Prosperity). “Through this approach, we seek to move toward a ‘New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System’, or NORMS,” he said.
The minister said India’s priorities would include “seeking responsible and inclusive solutions; concrete and result-oriented action at the Security Council for an effective response to international terrorism; reformed multilateralism to reflect contemporary realities; a comprehensive approach to peace and security, guided by dialogue, mutual respect, commitment to international law, for which we also hope to help streamline UN peacekeeping; and technology with a human touch”.
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He also said India will “work constructively with partners to overcome old and new faultlines, and offer innovative and inclusive solutions”, “help developing countries obtain the necessary support to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic”, “help focus more on development”, “enhance transparency, credibility, representation and finally effectiveness of the Council, thereby promoting its institutional reform” and “support greater involvement of women and youth in shaping a new paradigm”.
The UN General Assembly has decided to hold elections for the five non-permanent members of the Security Council under the new voting arrangements due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the seven times, most recently in 2011-2012.
Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More