New Delhi: India will take over the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, August 1 and will host events in three major areas including maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism.
India’s presidency is viewed as a significant one because the country has been vocal about various global and regional issues including issues pertaining to violation of human rights, security situations in Afghanistan, Syria and Myanmar to name a few.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, former ambassador Jitendra Tripathi said, “India’s presidency at the UNSC is symbolic but I don’t think it will have much impact on world politics. Issues like Afghanistan will be discussed and India, US have agreed that they will have a common stand and so will other countries. And the South China Sea is a pressing issue will also be in India’s agenda for discussion but China being the veto power, nothing could be done.”
On the eve of India taking over as President of the UN Security Council, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti in a video message said, “India will be the President of the UNSC in August. It is a singular honour for us to be presiding over the UNSC the same month when we are celebrating our 75th Independence Day. This is our 8th tenure in the Security Council”.
“In the the last seven months of our tenure in the council, we have taken a principled and forward-looking position on various issues. We have been unafraid of shouldering responsibilities. We have been proactive, focused on issues of our priority.
We have made efforts to bridge the different voices within the council to ensure that the council comes together and speaks in one voice on a variety of important issues of the day”, Tirumurti added.
“This is what we will bring into our Presidency. India will be organizing signature events in three major areas-maritime securities, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism. Maritime security has a high priority for us and it is important for the Security Council to take a holistic approach to this issue”, stated Tirumurti, adding that “Peacekeeping is a topic close to our hearts, given our own long and pioneering involvement with peacekeeping. We will be focusing on how to ensure the safety of peacekeepers especially by using better technology and how to bring perpetrators of crimes against peacekeepers to justice”.
Further, as a country which is been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, India will continue to keep the spotlight on counterterrorism.
India has begun its two-year tenure as the non-permanent member in the powerful organ of the world body-United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 1 January, 2021. Ever since then, India has shown a willingness and is doing its bit to bring about inclusive solutions to matters of international peace and matters concerning the security of the world as a whole. Also, the country has time and again reiterated its stance on reformed multilateralism, effective global governance at various global forums.
Also read: 'India proud of contribution to UN peacekeeping'
The August presidency will be India’s first Presidency during its 2021-22 tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. India will again preside over the Council in December next year, the last month of its two-year tenure.
The first working day of India’s Presidency will be Monday, August 2 when Tirumurti will hold a virtual press briefing in the UN headquarters on the Council’s programme of work for the month.
Tirumurti will also provide a briefing for member states of the United Nations which are non-members of the Council on its work for the month, according to a schedule released by the UN.
