India concluded its December presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Thursday with a focus on terrorism, maritime security and Global South. In an address at the last scheduled meeting of the UNSC of the year, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said, "We did not hesitate to raise our voice against the common enemy of humanity, such as terrorism."
"We were acutely aware of the fact that reform of the Security Council is the need of the hour. This conviction has only been strengthened after our tenure. As we exit the council, this tenure, we remain convinced that the more there is resistance to change, the more the danger that the decisions of this body stand the risk of losing relevance and credibility," she added.
India's non-permanent membership at the UNSC comes to a close on December 31. Apart from India, countries such as Norway, Mexico, Kenya and Ireland would also exit the UNSC after the 2-year term.
"During the last two years, we spoke out in support of peace, security and prosperity. We did not hesitate in raising our voices against the common enemies of humanity, such as terrorism. We were conscious that when we spoke in the Security Council, we were speaking on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians or one 6th of humanity. But we are also conscious of the fact that we were also the voice of the Global South during our tenure," Kamboj said.
Speaking on challenges posed by piracy, Kamboj said, "Maritime security was the best example where, until not too long ago, the Security Council was focused only on the issue of piracy, whereas maritime security encompasses far larger issues as well as a large troop-contributing country."
(With inputs from agencies)
