India began its two-year tenure at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday last by chairing three important committees which include the Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the Libyan Sanctions Committee.
“I’m happy to announce that India has been asked to chair three important committees of the Security Council, which include the Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the Libyan Sanctions Committee,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said in a video message on Thursday.
India will serve its tenure as a non-permanent member of the powerful 15-nation UN body while treating Taliban Sanctions Committee, also known as the 1988 Sanctions Committee as a “high priority” keeping in mind the country’s strong interest and commitment to peace, security, development and progress of Afghanistan.
“Our chairing this committee at this juncture will help keep the focus on the presence of terrorists and their sponsors threatening the peace process in Afghanistan. It has been our view that peace process and violence cannot go hand in hand,” Tirumurti said.
He also said that Libya Sanctions Committee, also called the 1970 Sanctions Committee, is a “very important” subsidiary body of the Council wherein all member states are required to prevent the sale or supply of arms and related material to Libya; prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of all listed individuals; freeze all funds, other financial assets and economic resources that are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the listed individuals or entities.
“We will be assuming the chair of this committee at a critical juncture when there is an international focus on Libya and on the peace process,” he said.
The three committees are highly significant subsidiary bodies of the UNSC and India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico will join non-permanent members Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam and the five permanent member nations China, France, Russia, UK and the US.
