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UNHRC resolution: Khurshid blames lack of consensus

New Delhi, Mar 22: India yesterday said its amendments to make the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka in UN Human Rights Council tougher could not be incorporated for lack of consensus among member-countries."Our amendments put

unhrc resolution khurshid blames lack of consensus unhrc resolution khurshid blames lack of consensus
New Delhi, Mar 22: India yesterday said its amendments to make the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka in UN Human Rights Council tougher could not be incorporated for lack of consensus among member-countries.



"Our amendments put explicitly what we implied in the resolution but it could have been put in the resolution provided there was a consensus," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said.

"They wanted the largest number of members to support the resolution. We didn't want to break the consensus, we didn't want to be the spoilers and put in a question mark over what are our true intentions," he said.

The External Affairs Minister said the amendments put forth by India could be tried in separate attempts later.

"The amendments were essentially sent for the purpose of strengthening the resolution and bringing in satisfaction of the international community. I don't know how much the United States was in a position then to be able to consult everyone but this would not be possible and it could be tried after sometime in terms of separate attempts," he told reporters.

The minister said separate attempts to incorporate the amendments would have "destroyed the consensus and that India was more interested in passage of the resolution.

The UN Human Rights Council at a meeting in Geneva yesterday adopted a US-sponsored resolution on alleged human rights violation in Sri Lanka with 25 countries, including India, voting in favour of the document in the 47-nation strong body.

The US-sponsored resolution asked Sri Lanka to conduct an "independent and credible" probe into allegations of human rights violations, an issue on which DMK pulled out of the ruling UPA alliance.

Khurshid said India would have been happy had the amendments to the resolution proposed by India were accepted.