India highlights terrorism, climate change as global issues of concern at UNSC debate

At a high-level open debate on security at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), India on Thursday discussed issues in the context of terrorism and climate change under the agenda item 'Maintenance of International Peace and Security.' Speaking at an open debate at the UNSC, India's Permanent Representative to United Nations TS Tirumurti underscored that terrorism is now a serious problem globally. Noting that the fight against terrorism has remained significant even after a 20-year landmark resolution 1373 was adopted in the wake of 9/11, he also elaborately discussed the impacts and threats, ANI reported. 

Underlining the adversities caused by terrorist activities in Niger, the Indian envoy to the UN mentioned that the threats have left a lasting impact in African countries in their pursuit of economic progress. "The security situation in the G5-Sahel countries has been deteriorating in the last three years," ambassador Tirumurti said, as quoted by ANI. He also appreciated the initiative of the G5-Sahel Forces, which is a joint effort of countries in the Sahel region and includes Niger. However, he added, "The Joint Force continues to be plagued by multiple challenges." Ahead of the open debate, the Council released a statement briefly outlining the topics to look forward to in the meeting. Highlighting the agenda of the Thursday session, the UN Security Council statement said:

"Terrorism and climate change have been priority issues for Niger during its two-year Council membership, which will conclude at the end of December. The concept note prepared by Niger ahead of the meeting says that the threats to peace and security caused by climate change and terrorism “do not spare any parts of the world”.

'Climate change to be dealt with established mechanisms'

Talking about climate change, the ambassador stressed that such complex crises need to be addressed through established mechanisms, which were "painstakingly created for the purpose." Acknowledging climate change as one of the "defining challenges" in recent times, ambassador Tirumurti added that the

"Members states have engaged purposefully in a focused manner to put in place commitments so that climate change can be addressed holistically as done by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)-led process with annual Conference of Parties (COP) meets."

The ambassador to the UN also advised against drawing separate links between security and climate change since they are being dealt with under UNFCC mandate and asked to refrain from shifting from a consensus-driven template to a divisive process. He also asked the members to avoid "over-simplification" of causes of conflict as it will not help resolve them. Recalling the pledges made by India at the COP26 Summit held in early November, the ambassador concluded by giving examples of how India has taken lead in bringing together international coalitions to generate long-term impact through an array of policies.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: @ambTirumurti/Twitter)