India slams UN’s ‘hidden veto’ in sanctioning terrorists, “anonymity” surrounding panel

China had at the last moment stopped the UN sanctions committee from designating Azhar as a terrorist, maintaining that the case "did not meet Security Council's requirements".

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Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar

DAYS AFTER China blocked India’s bid to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist, India Friday asked for revisiting procedures of “unanimity” and “anonymity” in the UN sanctions committees.

Criticising use of the “hidden veto” and the fact that UN’s general members are “never ever” informed of the reason for not acceding to requests for sanctioning terrorists, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin Friday slammed the “anonymity” surrounding the functioning of UN Security Council’s al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

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“The procedures of unanimity and anonymity of the al-Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS Sanctions Committees need to be revisited. Currently, they result in a lack of accountability,” Akbaruddin told the UN Security Council in an open debate on ‘Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts’ in New York.

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“The general membership of the UN is never ever formally informed of how and why requests for listing terrorists are not acceded to. Counter terror mechanisms such as the Sanctions Committees that act on behalf of the international community need to build trust, not engender impunity by the use of this form of a ‘hidden veto’,” he said.

While each of the 15 members in the committee now have a veto, Akbaruddin said — without naming China — none except these 15 members are told of who is it that has wielded the veto in a specific instance.

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