India presides over unanimous adoption of 3 key mandate extensions at UNSC

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India presided over the unanimous adoption of three important mandate extensions of UN Security Council resolutions on the penultimate day of its Presidency of the powerful organ of the world body.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Monday presided over the Council’s deliberations on the Middle East peace process, in particular the Palestinian issue.

India also steered discussions and the adoption of three other important mandate extensions of the UN Security Council on Mali sanctions, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and UNSOM (Somalia).

With today’s meetings, India’s Presidency of the Security Council now reaches a successful closure. Each of our initiatives were designed to produce, to the extent possible, consensus-based substantive and forward-looking Council outcomes. This is a testimony to the constructive and bridging role that India attempted to play during its Presidency, Shringla said in his remarks to the reporters at the UN Security Council hereafter chairing UNSC meetings, including one on Afghanistan, as Council President.

India’s month-long Presidency of the 15-member Council ends on Tuesday.

During the month, the United Nations Security Council, under the presidency of India, successfully steered the discussions on various peace and security issues that are on its agenda. These included Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Yemen, and the Middle East Peace Process.

The resolution on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) extended the mandate of the peacekeeping mission for a period of one more year. India is one of the largest troop-contributing countries to UNIFIL and has been contributing forces to UNIFIL for the past 21 years. Since October 2018, a Kazakhstan Contingent is co-deployed with the Indian Battalion in UNIFIL.

Currently, 862 Indian peacekeepers are serving in UNIFIL. India has also shown readiness to strengthen the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (MTF), including through the deployment of a maritime contingent.

The Council renewed until August 31, 2022, the travel ban and asset freeze imposed through resolution 2374 (2017) against individuals and entities obstructing the implementation of the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2590 (2021) under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the 15-member organ also extended until September 30, 2022, the mandate of the Panel of Experts, as well as the request, contained therein encouraging the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to assist the Panel.

The resolution also strongly condemns the activities in Mali and the Sahel region of ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida-linked terrorist organisations such as Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), IS in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), and Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).

India has cordial relations with Mali and has extended soft loans totalling USD 353.6 million for various developmental projects, including in the power sector, in Mali.

India also offers a significant number of training slots for Malian officials under its Technical and Economic Cooperation training programme. Mali is one of the beneficiaries of the Duty-Free Trade Preference Scheme enjoying zero duty on nearly 95% of its exports to India. Earlier this year, India also provided critical medicines to Mali to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The resolution on UNSOM extends the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia till May 31, 2022. UNSOM has been playing an important role in supporting the Federal Government of Somalia’s peace and reconciliation process and extending support to the government, and AMISOM as appropriate, by providing strategic policy advice on peacebuilding and State-building since its inception in 2014.

Somalia is currently witnessing a crucial phase. A peaceful, free, and fair democratic election is extremely important for the future of Somalia. UNSOM, along with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will be playing an important role in this phase.

India and Somalia are linked by two millennia of shared history and culture. India has been at the forefront to support Somalia by various means, including through the provision of medical facilities, capacity-building programs, and scholarships despite the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. India also participated in the IMF debt relief package for Somalia by agreeing to contribute Special Drawing Rights (SDR).—PTI