UN Secretary-General welcomes the Durban Platform; India’s CAG elected to UN panel of external auditors; UNSC condemns terrorist attacks in Kabul; UN Security Council places additional sanctions on Eritrea; India calls for ‘growth promoting’ policies; Pro
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    • Reports noted that UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon welcomed the set of decisions reached by countries at this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Durban and said that this agreement will define how the international community will address climate change in the coming years. 194 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed on a package of decisions called the Durban Platform which includes the launch of a legal instrument that would apply to all members, a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol and the launch of the Green Climate Fund.1

    In another development, the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India, Vinod Rai has been elected the chairman of the panel of external auditors of the United Nations. The CAG Director-General, Jagbans Singh has also been elected as chairman of the technical group of the panel.2

    According to reports, the UN Security Council strongly condemned terrorist attacks in Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif that led to numerous deaths and injuries among Afghan civilians. The Council also reaffirmed that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable.3

    Meanwhile, the UNSC placed additional sanctions on Eritrea for continuing its support for the armed groups that seek to destabilize Somalia and other parts of the Horn of Africa. China and Russia abstained from voting on the resolution.4

    According to reports, at the UN General Assembly session on Financing for Development, India’s representative to the UN, Hardeep S Puri said that countries should pursue ‘growth promoting’ policies to strengthen global economic recovery. In this regard, countries should work not only towards financial inclusion and progressive tax policies but also strengthen and democratize international tax cooperation and policy making.5

    In the interim, 40 Indian parlimentarians have backed a proposal for a UN Parliamentary Assembly that will comprise member nations’ legislators which will eventually lead to direct election of the UN parliament members by citizens worldwide. Though the idea of a global parliament has a long history, it gained momentum in the last four years with the launch of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly in 2007. Over 600 members of parliament from over 90 countries have backed the proposal.6

    In other developments, Australia is among one of the latest countries to have extended support to India’s claim for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council. 7

    According to reports, the Security Council condemned attacks against five UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers and called on all parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to respect the safety of UNIFIL and other UN personnel.8

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