India’s Minister for Environment and Forests: India committed to implementation of Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety; Row over J&K at the 67th UN General Assembly session; India calls for expansion of enforcement mechanisms to destroy terrorists’ safe have
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    • At the UN Convention on Biodiversity, India’s Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan called for effective coordination among countries on providing adequate protection to ecological diversity from adverse effects of genetically modified organisms. She also added that India was committed to the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety in a balanced manner. 1 Meanwhile, before the 16th October, India is hopeful of becoming the seventh nation to ratify the Nagoya Protocol that prevents bio-piracy and ensures that the benefit from the commercial exploration of natural genetic resources reaches the local communities. 2

    In another development, at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari disputed India’s claims over Jammu and Kashmir and contented that J&K was a sign of UN “failure”. Responding to these statements, India’s Foreign Minister, S M Krishna in his speech said that the references to Kashmir were “unwarranted” and asserted that J&K was an integral part of India. 3

    Meanwhile at the 11th Meeting of the Heads of Special Services, Security Agencies and Law-Enforcement Organizations, India’s Ambassador to the UN and Chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee, H S Puri asked UN member states to expand enforcement efforts to destroy safe havens and terrorists’ support networks besides evolving a counter-narrative to combat radicalisation. Puri added that to combat terrorism effectively, it is necessary that member states have political will and greater international and regional cooperation. 4

    In other developments, the UN Security Council condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Aleppo, Syria that caused dozens of deaths and left more than a hundred civilians injured. The Council also expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims. 5 In the face of escalating tensions along the Syrian-Turkish border, UN Secretary-General and the Security Council called on parties to exercise restraint. The Council members also said that the incident highlighted the grave impact that the Syrian crisis has on regional peace and security. 6

    Following the conclusion of the UN General Assembly’s high-level General Debate, its current President, Vuk Jeremic said that the top priorities for the session would be giving the General Assembly a more prominent role in discussion on global governance and strengthening efforts to achieve peaceful resolution of disputes. Other priorities include devising the sustainable development goals, enhancing the role of the UN-backed Alliance of Civilizations and strengthening cooperation between the initiative and the Assembly. 7

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