International
Lack of adequate geographic representation hobbling UNSC: India
United Nations, Aug 13 (IANS) The lack of adequate geographic representation in the Security Council is responsible for its failures, and giving Africa permanent membership will be essential to make the highest decision-making body effective, R. Ravindra, charge d’affaires of India’s UN mission has said.
Speaking on behalf of the G-4, the group of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, on Monday at an open debate of the Council on reforming itself, he said, “A primary reason for the underperformance of this critical institution remains the non-representation of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the under-representation of Asia-Pacific in the permanent category”.
“We are convinced that African representation in both permanent and non-permanent categories will be an indispensable part of UNSC reform for a more representative and effective Council,” he said.
The meeting of the Council was convened by Sierra Leone, which holds the rotating presidency, to push Africa’s case for reforming the Council to give the continent better representation.
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio said, “Despite being home to over 1.3 billion people, and the 54 African countries making up 28 per cent of the total membership of the UN,” Africa continues to suffer from the historic injustice of being deprived of permanent seats at the Council.
“Nearly 80 years after its creation, the Council has been stuck in time” — 1945 when the UN was created while most of Africa was under the colonial yoke perpetuating the injustice, he said.
“Africa demands two permanent seats in the UN Security Council and two additional non-permanent seats” to the existing three, he said.
Ravindra said, “We as G-4 continue to support fully these legitimate demands and aspirations from the people of Africa” and its relationship with the continent “ is anchored in trust and mutual respect and is focused on ensuring that Africa finds its rightful place in a new age of reformed multilateralism”.
“It is also inconceivable that Africa which constitutes over 70 per cent of the UNSC’s agenda items under discussions, does not get a permanent voice at the horse-shoe table” at the Council chamber, he said.
Ravindra said the Inter-governmental Negotiations (IGN) for Council reforms should expedite text-based negotiations so that it can proceed with the reform process in time for the 80th anniversary of the UN next year.
He said that at the summit of G-20 last year under India’s leadership, Africa was given membership in the group of the major industrialised and emerging economies, which was also noted by Bio.
Bio said that Africa’s claim should be treated as a “special case” and given priority in reforming the Council in time for the 80th anniversary next year.
Many speakers at the meeting also emphasised Africa’s case for special expedited treatment in the reform process mired for decades by opposition by a small group of countries that call themselves Uniting for Consensus (UfC) hoping to detach the continent from the controversies involving other countries.
India, its G4 partners that work together to expand the Council, and other countries have counted on Africa’s case for reform to break the stalemate.
But the calls for treating Africa as a “special case” ahead of the Summit of the Future in September and the UN’s 80th anniversary next year seek to make the reform a piecemeal effort — if it happens at all.
Marco Romiti, a Minister Counsellor in the UN Mission of Italy which heads the UfC, spoke out against adding more permanent members.
Munir Akram, the permanent representative of Pakistan, which is also a member of UfC, opposed expanding permanent membership but said that Africa can be considered a special case and be given long-term seats in the Council.
But he, too, was firm against adding permanent members.
Bio was asked outside the Council chamber at his meeting with the media how he hoped to overcome the UfC opposition.
He said Africa has a very compelling case and that is what we are pushing for.
“We don’t consider the opposition,” he said. “We have a genuine case and that is what we are pushing. We know that there are others … it is a total reform, but we are talking for Africa”.
He said he was confident that it was only a matter of time before Africa got its due.
“The gatekeepers will find it difficult to let us in, but as you can see, there is already willingness and as you can see we are gradually inching towards the next steps in order to be able to reach our goal,” he said.
Akram took a dig at India and the G4 saying, “Africa is critically different from the demand of four states for permanent membership for themselves”.
China’s Permanent Representative Fu Cong also threw in criticism against India and the G4, saying that there were “a few countries and interest groups who pursue their own selfish and small-circle interests when it comes to Council reform”.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the “cracks” in the Council’s “foundation are becoming too large to ignore”.
“They are contributing to deadlock, stalemate and stagnation around today’s most pressing crises and they are feeding a broader crisis of credibility and legitimacy that is affecting multilateralism itself,” he said.
“We cannot accept that the world’s preeminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people — a young and rapidly growing population — making up 28 per cent of the membership of the United Nations,” he said.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
–IANS
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Vientiane (Laos), Aug 22 (IANS) Representatives from the Lao government and development partners have attended a conference here titled “Climate Change and Nutrition in Laos: Intersections and Interventions” to discuss the impact of climate change on nutrition in the Southeast Asia country and potential solutions.
Speaking at the conference, deputy director general of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion under the Lao Ministry of Health Viengkhan Phixay, said, “We gather to address a critical and interwoven issue: the impact of climate change on nutrition and how we can work together to tackle these challenges,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lao government is actively engaged in this endeavor, with numerous policies and initiatives aimed at addressing both climate change and nutrition, Lao National Television reported on Thursday.
“By leveraging the Scaling Up Nutrition network in Laos, which is led by the government, and supported by civil society, donors, and the United Nations, we have a robust platform to tackle the negative impacts of climate change while improving nutrition and overall health for everyone in Laos,” Viengkham said at the conference held on Monday.
The conference featured a series of presentations that not only detailed evidence-based research but also introduced innovative tools for measuring and enhancing nutrition under the impact of climate change.
The conference stressed the critical need for integrated approaches to tackle the intertwined challenges of climate change and nutrition, and setting the stage for impactful future collaborations.
–IANS
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Baghdad, Aug 22 (IANS) A civilian was killed while seven others were injured on Thursday in a tribal shootout in Iraq’s holy Shiite province of Najaf, according to a local security source.
The shootout erupted in the early hours between armed men from the local tribe in the al-Zarga area in northern Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, a local police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The clash resulted in the killing of an Iraqi civilian and the injury of seven others, including three Iranian Shiite pilgrims, the source added.
A joint force from the Interior Ministry’s emergency response division and Najaf provincial police arrested 53 gunmen from both sides of the shootout and seized weapons and ammunition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It added that search operations are ongoing to locate additional gunmen and weapons, with more details to be released later.
The incident took place as numerous pilgrims traveled to the city of Karbala to observe Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Typically, these pilgrims also visit Najaf as part of their journey to Karbala.
–IANS
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Dhaka, Aug 22 (IANS) Bangladesh’s interim government has sought $1 billion from the World Bank as budgetary support.
The call came from the country’s Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan’s meeting with Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He made the plea as the ministry owes more than 2 billion dollars to suppliers in import costs of power and energy, Xinhua news agency reported.
Khan mentioned that the interim government, which was formed with many pressing mandates, is due to settle a $2 billion debt left by the previous government in the power sector.
He said they have already suspended activities under the much-criticized Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act 2010 and abolished the government’s power to set energy prices without any public hearing.
On August 5, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted from her country and power, ending her rule since January 2009.
This event was seen as a massive escalation, with what initially started as student’s protests and resulted in a major crisis in Bangladesh.
Earlier on August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
–IANS
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Belgrade, Aug 22 (IANS) Serbian police are still searching for seven missing migrants in the Drina River after their boat capsized when crossing from Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia’s Interior Ministry confirmed in a press release issued on Thursday.
According to testimonies of the migrants who managed to reach the shore, there were approximately 25 people on board. So far, police and rescue teams have found 18 individuals, including three children, on the riverbank, Xinhua news agency reported.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said police and the Emergency Situations Sector responded promptly after being alerted by the Bosnian border authorities early Thursday morning.
An intensive search is underway in the Drina River and its surrounding area.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, reported a significant decrease in illegal border crossings in the Western Balkans during the first half of 2024.
The illegal crossings towards EU borders reached 12,407 between January and July 2024, a 75 per cent drop compared to the same period last year.
–IANS
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Islamabad, Aug 22 (IANS) Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, turned into a fortress on Thursday with dozens of containers forcing closure of several roads with heavy deployment of law enforcement forces following the cancellation of a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) of an anti-government protest planned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and protest call by religious parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) under the banner of Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat against a Supreme Court decision in the Mubarak Sani case.
Anticipating widespread protests, the local administration, which had cancelled the NOC, imposed Section 144 in the city, barring assembly of people and also closed all educational institutions for the day.
Later in the day, the PTI announced its decision to postpone its protest rally and rescheduled it for September 8.
The government maintained that it did not want to take any chance considering the Supreme Court hearing and also the presence of Bangladeshi cricket team in the country which is currently touring Pakistan for a Test series.
On Wednesday, the capital administration of Islamabad decided to cancel the NOC for PTI, less than 24 hours before the scheduled public gathering in Tarnol area. PTI had earlier announced that it would go ahead with its planned gathering even after its NOC was revoked.
“It is concerning that the government might try to exploit the rally to incite unrest and blame it on PTI. They are scared and are trying to find ways to orchestrate cases against us,” said senior PTI leader Azam Swati.
Imran Khan’s party has been struggling to hold a political gathering in the capital for the past five months with the local administration delaying grant of any permission to hold such an event. Even after a permission is granted, it ends up being revoked a few hours later.
The latest episode is the second time the capital administration has cancelled the NOC issued to PTI for holding a political gathering at Tarnol.
The government maintains that it had detailed meeting with the Inspector General Police, Deputy Commissioner, senior officers from the Chief Commissioner’s office, officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) after which it was decided that there will be serious law and order concerns if the gathering is allowed.
On the other hand, several religious parties have also taken to the streets in Islamabad, protesting against the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict in the Mubarak Sani case.
Tehreek-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, an umbrella name for different religious parties, has called for a protest in front of the Supreme Court after the July 24 Supreme Court verdict in the case, maintaining and ruling that while Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims, they retain the right to profess and proliferate their religion, provided they do not publicly use Muslim terms or introduce themselves as Muslims.
In February 2024, Mubarak Ahmed Sani, an Ahmadi, was accused of violating the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) Amendment) Act 2021 by distributing the proscribed book ‘Tafseer-e-Sagheer’. However, the Supreme Court maintained that the alleged act occurred in 2019, before it was criminalised in 2021.
The Supreme Court decision was widely criticized by the religious groups who demanded the federal and the Punjab government to challenge the decision and ensure punishment for Sani.
The Punjab government later filed a review petition in the Supreme Court while a petition was also filed by the Federal government on directions of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
–IANS
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