India questions ‘Veto’ blocking terrorist listings at UNSC, citing doublespeak concerns

India has strongly condemned the countries that use their veto powers to block evidence-based terrorist listings at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and said the practice is uncalled for and smacks of doublespeak to the council’s commitment in tackling the challenge of terrorism.

“Let us turn to the subsidiary bodies inhabiting a subterranean world with their own custom-made working methods and obscure practices which do not find any legal basis in the charter or any of the council’s resolutions. For instance, while we do get to know of the decisions of these committees on listing, the decisions on rejecting listing requests are not made public,” India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, said at a session of the United Nations Security Council.

“This is a disguised veto, but an even more impervious one that indeed merits a discussion amongst the wider membership. For genuine evidence-based listing proposals for globally sanctioned terrorists to be blocked without giving any due justification is uncalled for and smacks of doublespeak when it comes to the council’s commitment in tackling the challenge of terrorism,” she added, in what seems like a veiled attack on China.

Earlier last year, China had put a technical hold on the proposal after India and the United States submitted a proposal to the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee to designate Mir, who is wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed 166 people and injured over 300.

China had effectively blocked a proposal to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Sajid Mir as a global terrorist. For a proposal to be adopted, it needs consensus from all the member countries.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Kamboj argued that the selection of chairs of subsidiary bodies and decision-making power must be given through an open process that intends to be transparent.

“The selection of chairs of subsidiary bodies and distribution of pen holderships must be made through a process which is open, which is transparent, which is based on exhaustive consultations and with a more integrated perspective. The consensus of the e ten on chairs of subsidiary bodies, to be assumed by the E-10 themselves, must be absolutely honoured by the P-5,” she said.

“As one of the largest troop-contributing countries, my delegation would like to reiterate that the concerns of the troop and police contributing countries should be taken into consideration for better implementation of peacekeeping mandates. There is a need to review the agenda of the council and remove obsolete and irrelevant items from the agenda of the Security Council,” she added.

India also reiterated its call for UNSC reforms and asked countries that block the revision of giving permanent seats at the forum to contribute to making the council fit for the 21st century.

“As the threats to international peace and security evolve, Mr. President, so must this council. We ask those blocking progress on this vital issue to heed calls for genuine reform and contribute to making this council truly fit for purpose for the 21st century. Thank you,” Kamboj said.

“It is also imperative to note that working methods do not stand in isolation as they have an organic linkage to other clusters, including on the relationship with the General Assembly and discussions on the veto. Therefore, unless we address the issue in its entirety, a piecemeal approach would fail to offer a holistic solution,” she said.

“As we discuss the working methods, we also witness an equitable representation-sized hole in the Security Council between the P five and e ten. What we, therefore, need is a Security Council that better reflects contemporary realities, the geographical and developmental diversity of the multipolar world of today, including the voices of the developing countries and unrepresented regions like Africa, Latin America, and the vast majority of Asia and the Pacific. For this, an expansion of the council in both categories of membership is absolutely essential,” she added.

Kamboj said, “As the threats to international peace and security evolve, Mr. President, so must this council. We ask those blocking progress on this vital issue to heed calls for genuine reform and contribute to making this council truly fit for purpose for the 21st century.”

She insisted on the effectiveness of the United Nations in international peace and security and said that the debate on working methods remains extremely relevant.

“As an organ of the United Nations tasked with the maintenance of international peace and security, the debate on working methods remains extremely relevant, especially in the backdrop of Ukraine and Gaza. As such, the question as to how much the Security Council has been able to deliver on peace and security with both feet firmly fixed in the past is a larger question that the member states need to collectively ponder upon in that collective reflection,” she said.

“On the council’s engagement with the wider membership and as mandated by Article 24 of the UN Charter, one of the meaningful ways of doing this would be through a discussion on the report of the Security Council in the General Assembly. However, despite long-standing demands for analytical reportage, these remain just factual markers indicating the number of times the council has met or the total debates that have been conducted,” she added.