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AMN / WEB DESK

India has abstained from voting in United Nations Security Council UNSC on a resolution that exempts humanitarian aid efforts from sanctions.

In the explanation of vote, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said that India’s concerns were triggered by proven instances of terrorist groups in its neighborhood, including those listed by the Council, re-incarnating themselves as humanitarian organizations and civil society groups precisely to evade the sanctions. She said, these terrorist organizations use the umbrella of the humanitarian assistance space to raise funds and recruit fighters.

Making a veiled reference to Pakistan, Ms Kamboj added that India will call for caution and due diligence be used when providing humanitarian aid to groups that are prohibited under UN Security Council Resolution 1267, who continue to thrive with full state hospitality in territories universally acknowledged as terrorist havens by the international community.

India reiterated during the negotiations that under no circumstances, the garb of humanitarian cover intended to be provided by these exemptions should be misused by banned terrorist groups to expand their terror activities in the region and beyond.

She said, more importantly, such exemptions must not facilitate mainstreaming of terror entities in the political space in the region. Ms Kamboj said, due diligence and extreme caution in the implementation of this resolution, therefore, is an absolute must.

She said, for this very reason, India had sought in the text of the resolution a proactive role for the 1267 Monitoring Team, coupled with robust reporting standards and mechanisms.

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