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  • Hara-kiri Multilateralism: United Nations Response to COVID-19

    The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities of the international system, particularly those of multilateral institutions. When the much spoken borderless threat became a reality, the multilateral institutions were found not only unprepared but acting in a self-destructive mode.

    May 21, 2020

    United Nations Peace Operations: Personal Experiences and Reflections

    We are passing through a decisive stage in the history of the international system. The threat of war between great states, or nuclear confrontation between major powers, is well behind us and, in fact, fading in our memory. However, new and diverse forms of threats, some clear and present, others only dimly perceived, are testing our resolve and questioning the validity of our existing mechanisms. Developments at the international level over the last two decades have exposed deep divisions within the membership of the United Nations (UN) over fundamental policies on peace and security.

    January-June 2020

    Significance of SDGs and India’s Evolving Global Role

    India has demonstrated a bold commitment to multilateralism. On all three parameters – ideational, diplomatic and institutional – India’s role is a continuation of a long lineage. As for the implementation of SDGs, India is trying to ensure that its impressive growth trickles down to the last man standing through proactive state interventions.

    November 08, 2019

    Vikas Chandra asked: In which committee of the General Assembly was the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy negotiated? What was India's approach during negotiations and thereafter?

    Arpita Anant replies: At the United Nations (UN), discussions on the subject of terrorism that are in public domain take place mainly in the General Assembly and the Security Council. There are several discussions especially in the Security Council that take place behind closed doors. Discussions related to terrorism are held in the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly under the heading “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism”.

    Designating Masood Azhar at the United Nations: More than a Symbolic Diplomatic Victory

    The decade-long effort to list Azhar showcases the pragmatism that marks India's multilateral diplomacy and questions the general perception that India's multilateral approach is ambivalent and inconsistent.

    May 09, 2019

    China’s vulnerability to terrorism behind its support for Azhar ban

    It is neither the Wuhan spirit nor India’s zero tolerance on terrorism but China’s own vulnerability to terror that caused Beijing to ultimately take on board New Delhi’s concerns on terrorism.

    May 06, 2019

    What pales the counter-terrorism regime

    What pales the counter-terrorism regime is not that its procedures are cumbersome or that its working is not transparent, but that it only selectively raises the cost for those who inflict terror.

    May 06, 2019

    Bringing Capacity Building in Cybersecurity to the fore

    For a global build-up of cybersecurity, capacity building needs to be given much more importance than it has received till date.

    December 26, 2018

    Kishore asked: What are the key hurdles to the adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism?

    Arpita Anant replies: India tabled a Draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in the UN General Assembly in 1996 (A/C.6/51/6, November 11, 1996). The thrust of the convention was to ensure state support to prosecute or extradite those who have committed acts of terrorism in a third country.

    Anjali Singh asked: India has not ratified the UN Refugees Convention and doesn't have a national policy either. What kind of challenges India faces in view of such a policy void?

    Rajeesh Kumar replies: It is true that India is neither a party to the United Nations Refugee Convention and nor have a national refugee protection framework. However, lack of a specific legal framework does not mean that the country was in a dilemma whenever a refugee crisis arose. India dealt with multiple refugee crises and hosted refugees from several countries including Tibet, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. At present, India is host to around 300,000 refugees from more than 25 countries.

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