India made its UNSC presidency count

Gurjit Singh
Former Ambassador

INDIA held the month-long presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) during August. During the two-year term (2021-22), India will again have the opportunity to preside over the Security Council in December 2022.

Three initiatives were taken during India’s presidency. These related to maritime security, UN peacekeeping and counter-terrorism. This set agenda was effectively presented by India, as these are critical to the country’s current policies.

Maritime security is a major issue, especially in the Indo-Pacific. The aggressive moves by China have led to the evolution of Indo-Pacific policies by several countries and the consolidation of the Quad. Keeping a rule-based order and preventing a hegemonistic role for China are critical for India’s continuing rise. For this end, maritime security was indeed a wise move to focus the attention of the UNSC.

This was effectively communicated by the unique manner of having the Prime Minister himself chair the Security Council at that session. Never before has an Indian Prime Minister undertaken this role. It showed the seriousness with which India treated this at the UNSC, and the lead it intended to take. Thanks to the Prime Minister’s participation, leaders like Russian President Putin, President Kenyatta of Kenya, the PM of Vietnam and the US Secretary of State, French Foreign Minister and the UK Defence Secretary also participated. It gave ‘Enhancing maritime security’ a much higher profile than it would have acquired otherwise.

Undoubtedly, it was the pandemic-induced virtual mode that allowed the Prime Minister to participate in the session. It is unlikely that had the virtual opportunity not existed, the Prime Minister would have flown to New York to chair the session. It is significant that background diplomacy couched the presidential statement under “Maintenance of international peace and security”, which covered references to UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) despite Chinese objections. The ASEAN countries, currently represented by Vietnam in the UNSC, must be grateful for keeping this reference as they deal with China over a code of conduct in the South China Sea. China is not fond of the UNCLOS. The USA has not ratified it yet.

A second initiative related to peacekeeping. India’s credentials for a larger role in the world, and a permanent seat in the UNSC were initially buttressed by its superb role in peacekeeping since its inception. For many years, India was the leading troop-contributing country, and remains an important one. Now, India has been a member of the Peacebuilding Commission from its inception in 2005. The session to discuss peacekeeping operations (PKO) was chaired by the External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, who specially flew to New York for this purpose.

Prior to this, India announced a contribution of $1 million for supporting the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Many recall that in the 1990s, India was a major contributor to the UN Mission in Somalia. India contributed $150,000 to the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) this year, bringing the total to about $6 million since its inception.

India’s initiative on peacekeeping operations focused on ‘Protecting the protectors’. A resolution on ‘Accountability of crimes against UN peacekeepers’ and the first ever presidential statement on ‘Technology for peacekeeping’ were achieved.

The third initiative related to counter-terrorism. There is no doubt about the validity of this issue. India has consistently been talking about it in bilateral and plurilateral meetings. India has endeavoured to focus the attention of the world community on countering terror effectively, the role of Pakistan, and the emerging situation in Afghanistan which are a deep cause of concern. They are not ameliorated by sufficient action by the international community. Hence, the focus on counter-terrorism by India was well thought out and constructive. The EAM spoke about the situation in Kabul, adding to the importance of the issue. Holding the Taliban accountable was the focus of the resolution but due to the changed situation in Kabul, the reference to Taliban was omitted. Russia and China abstained from the resolution but it shows that the other powers too are ready to accommodate the Taliban and that is what India is cautious about.

The UNSC agenda is not solely decided by the president for the month. Therefore, if India could achieve its three major initiatives and put them on the agenda for discussion, it should be considered a sign of success for Indian diplomacy. A pat to the Permanent Mission of India in New York is recommended.

Obtaining agenda approval in a period of dynamic flux in international politics is by itself an achievement. Separately, India had to grapple with issues concerning Myanmar, Ethiopia, Mali and Sudan and the sudden turn of events in Afghanistan, where a calibrated US withdrawal by August 31 would have brought Afghanistan on the agenda in September. But the sudden takeover of Kabul by the Taliban brought the Afghanistan issue into prominence earlier than expected. The UNSC session on Afghanistan was chaired by Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla on the last day of the Indian presidency.

With Russia and China abstaining, a pattern emerged. Both were consistently voting together. India on occasion, say while discussing Africa, particularly Ethiopia, stood with Russia and China to avoid intrusive efforts by the UNSC. Ethiopia was very admiring of the balanced role of India.

During August, four presidential statements were issued on PKO — peace consolidation in West Africa, maintenance of international peace and security, Sudan and South Sudan. In no month this year were so many issues raised by any presidency. Four resolutions were adopted on Somalia, Middle East, Mali and PKO. Some of the themes were also covered during India’s presidency of the UNSC in 2011-12 when Hardeep Puri was the Indian Permanent Representative to the UN. This shows that the UNSC is not successful in resolving issues. Its reform needs attention.

During the two years in the UNSC, the presidency gives an opportunity for focusing on critical issues beyond the regular work of the Security Council. Such special efforts draw attention to India’s role and interests. India has grasped the opportunity well and brought public visibility to issues of importance.

The themes set by India for its term on the UNSC included the 5S approach with Samman (respect), Samvad (dialogue), Sahyog (cooperation), Shanti (peace) and Samriddhi (prosperity). For this, India would stand with multilateralism, rule of law and a fair and equitable international system. Most of these objectives were highlighted through the month of the Indian presidency of the UNSC.