World
UN Security Council expansion move gets new impetus
United Nations: General Assembly (UNGA) President Sam Kahamba Kutesa and several nations called Wednesday for the creation of a negotiating document for the expansion of the Security Council in a bid to give a new impetus to the reform initiative ahead of the 70th anniversary next year of the UN’s founding.
Kutesa told the UNGA, “What is now required is a firm commitment to move the (Council reform) process to text-based negotiations.”
Since the current initiative for council reform began at the World Summit in 2005, there has not been a concrete document to be the basis of reform negotiations and this has been a major roadblock. The issue of having such a text has been caught in a Catch-22 situation with some countries insisting on reaching a consensus on reforms before a document can be produced, while talks for a consensus have not been able to proceed without a written framework for the discussions.
“We must be the only forum in the United Nations to be negotiating without actually having a negotiating text on the table before us,” Indian Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji pointed out. Urging early action on reforms, he said the Council “is today a seriously impaired organ” that is “unable to act with credibility essentially due to its unrepresentative nature.”
Kutesa, who listed Council reforms among his priorities for this UNGA session, appointed Jamaica’s Ambassador Courtenay Rattray as the new chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN), succeeding Afghanistan Ambassador Zahir Tanin.
Backing the UNGA president’s call for “text-based negotiations,” Mukerji said, “We now look to you, as the President of the General Assembly, to truly empower our Chairman by giving him, under your authority, a text on the basis of which all of us can begin to engage in actual negotiations.”
The topic of the UNGA debate was equitable representation on the Council, which would require adding permanent and non-permanent members to the Council, which now has 15 members, five of them permanent with veto powers.
The Group of Four (G4), comprising India, Brazil, Japan and Germany, which are seeking permanent seats on the Council and back each other’s candidacu, also collectively pressed for a negotiating text. Speaking on behalf of G4, Brazilian Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota said, “As for those who state that there must be a prior consensus before drafting a working document, let me point out that this requirement has no precedent in any other process in the UN.” He recalled the parameters set for such a document by former UNGA President John Ashe, who said it only needs “sufficiently wide, but not necessarily universal agreement.”
Another grouping known as L69 and comprising 42 countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean region also backed the demand. Representing the group, Saint Lucia’s Ambassador Menissa Rambally asked Kutesa to “mandate the (IGN) Chair to conduct negotiations immediately on the basis of a text, which is tabled with your full authority and backing.”
Even Uniting for Consensus (UfC), a 13-member group that includes Pakistan and opposes adding permanent members to the Council, acknowledged the need for text-based negotiations. Speaking on its behalf, Italian Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi, said “the UfC heeds, with genuine political openness, the call for text-based negotiations,” but added the caveat, “we need to first and foremost agree on such text.”
However, Rambally said, “If we allow the self defeating argument of ‘consensus to emerge even before the commencement of negotiations’ as a pre-condition for commencing text-based negotiations, then we are simply trying to scuttle any forward movement on this process, which only suits the interests of a limited minority of objectors.”
A reason for some countries opposing the creation of a negotiating text is that they fear it would give some countries seeking permanent seats an edge by putting their names out there and handicap others.
Mukerji said, “Our Intergovernmental Negotiations should not be perceived to be biased against any individual country or group of countries just because a text is on the table.” He added, that if there is no negotiation text, “then we would surely have just cause to detect a bias against those of us” carrying out the 2005 mandate to reform the Council.
Pakistan’s Ambassador Masood Khan, who endorsed UfC’s position set out by Italy, said Islamabad “opposes new permanent seats, not because of regional rivalries or realpolitik, but because of the principles that should drive the Council’s reform,” which he said were spelled out by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as making it “more representative, equitable, accountable and transparent.”
Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US, who were then considered the leading powers of the winning side in World War II, have been the permanent members of the Security Council with powers to veto its resolutions since the founding of the UN in 1945.
Originally, Taiwan held the China seat and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics the Russia seat and other than that there have been no changes in the permanent membership to reflect the vast global changes.
There are in addition members who are elected to two-year terms to the Council based on a system of regional representation and their number was raised from six to ten in 1965, the last time there was any change in the composition of the council. Since its founding, the total membership of the UN has risen from 51 to 193.
India’s candidacy for a permanent seat in the Council is backed by four of the five permanent members, Britain, France, Russia and the United States.
National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.