United Nations: India abstained from voting on the Arab-backed, US supported resolution on Syria in the UN General Assembly, which called for a political transition. India was joined by 58 other countries who abstained in General Assembly voting on the non-binding resolution, which was passed by 107 votes on Wednesday. Twelve countries, including Russia voted against it. In August 2012, a similar resolution had received 133 votes. Pakistan voted in favor of the resolution, in a significant change from its previous position.
Explaining on India's decision to abstain on the resolution, the Indian Ambassador to the UN, Asoke Kumar Mukerji, cautioned the members of the General Assembly that unilateral action of any kind will not resolve the crisis. "It will only exacerbate the problem and cause greater instability and violence even beyond Syria's borders," he said.
"Whether a group, any group, is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people or not can only be determined by the Syrian people, not this Assembly," Mukerji stressed. "Therefore certain provisions of this resolution can be interpreted as effecting regime change by sleight of hand. This is a dangerous precedent which we cannot acquiesce in...We would once again reiterate our position that the leadership of Syria is a matter for Syrians to decide themselves," said the Indian Ambassador.
In his remarks, Mukerji said at the Joint Communique of the Geneva Action Group adopted in June 2012 provides a good basis for resolution of the Syrian crisis through a Syrian led political
07:20 AM, May 16, 2013
Nearly two months after retiring as the Chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata is taking up a new role by joining hands with global leaders, including former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, to launch the Global Ocean Commission (GOC). ...
12:28 PM, Feb 12, 2013
The UN General Assembly has voted by a more than two-thirds majority to recognise the state of Palestine. ...
03:25 AM, Nov 30, 2012
New York: Senior BJP leader LK Advani on Tuesday said he is in favour of granting voting rights to Indians and people of Indian-origin settled abroad. Advani, who is leading a group of visiting Indian Parliamentarians here to attend sessions of the UN General Assembly, addressed a large gathering of Indian-Americans and community leaders at an event organised over the weekend by the Overseas Friend of BJP in Edison, New...
10:35 PM, Oct 09, 2012
New Delhi: India, the only country to send MPs to attend sessions of UN General Assembly, is deputing 13 Parliamentarians this time, including BJP leader LK Advani. The MPs, representing both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, will be in New York in three groups, one after another, from Friday, sources said in New Delhi on Tuesday. Each group will attend the session for two weeks and speak on...
08:14 PM, Oct 02, 2012
United Nations: India on Monday hit out at Pakistan for making an "unwarranted" reference to Jammu and Kashmir at the UN, asserting that the state was an integral part of the country. In an apparent reference to remarks by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Jammu and Kashmir at the UN General Assembly last week, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said India's principled position on the issue has been consistent...
09:07 PM, Oct 01, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that drawing a "clear red line" against Iran was the only way to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons. Netanyahu was speaking at the UN General Assembly. Elaborating on his statement, the Israeli PM said that there was little difference between Iran and the al-Qaeda with nuclear weapons. ...
12:34 PM, Sep 28, 2012
United Nations: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday declared at the United Nations that his country has suffered more than any other nation in the "epic struggle" against terrorism, with US drone strikes on its territory adding to complexities and it should not be asked to do more. "No country and no people have suffered more in the epic struggle against terrorism, than Pakistan," he told world leaders in...
11:46 AM, Sep 26, 2012
Addressing the UN General Assembly on its 67th annual session, the US President is likely to express his views on the repercussions of the film that allegedly mocks Prophet Mohammed. ...
09:30 AM, Sep 25, 2012
United Nations: The UN General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a Saudi-drafted resolution on Syria that expressed "grave concern" at the escalating violence in the country but India was among the 31 nations that abstained. The 193-member General Assembly passed the resolution that denounced Syria's crackdown on its people and demanded that the country lockdown its chemical and biological weapons. The resolution also deplored "the failure of the Security Council...
08:58 AM, Aug 04, 2012
United Nations: After a gap of more than two decades, India's nominee Justice Dalveer Bhandari was on Friday overwhelmingly elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice, defeating his Filipino rival in the UN General Assembly as well as the Security Council. 64-year-old Justice Bhandari, a senior Supreme Court Judge, will serve a 2012-18 term in the ICJ, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations...
12:06 AM, Apr 28, 2012
United Nations: The UN General Assembly has voted in favour of a resolution urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. The Arab nations-backed resolution condemns human rights violations in Syria and calls for an end to the violence. As expected China and Russia again voted against the measure. But this time, India has voted in favour of the resolution, taking a U-turn from the February 4 voting on a...
08:50 AM, Feb 17, 2012
United Nations: Adjusting to tough economic times, the United Nations has taken a five per cent cut in its budget for 2012-2013 at $ 5.15 billion, making it only the second time in 50 years that the world body's budget has declined over the previous year. The budget was approved by the 193-member UN General Assembly after night-long negotiations over the weekend. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the new budget...
11:50 AM, Dec 28, 2011
Istanbul: Turkey on Wednesday expressed apologies for raking up the Kashmir issue in the UN General Assembly after India conveyed its "unhappiness" over the matter. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna met his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on the sidelines of Istanbul conference during which Krishna conveyed the country's "surprise and unhappiness." "India conveys its surprise and unhappiness on the UN General Assembly speech of the Prime Minister of Turkey wherein...
12:46 AM, Nov 03, 2011
New Delhi: Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed on Thursday, once caused a major diplomatic embarassment to India when he supported the idea of an 'independent state' for Kashmir and said that it should be a 'Baathist state' between India and Pakistan. In his maiden address to the UN General Assembly in 2009, the maverick leader also mentioned India as among the countries that will be competing for a...
07:57 PM, Oct 20, 2011
New York: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday asked India to ensure that its nuclear liability regime conforms with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. She made the call in a 40 minute meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session with Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, according to a senior State Department Official. India's nuclear liability regime has become a sticking point...
09:10 AM, Sep 27, 2011
New York: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left the US on Monday for Frankfurt on his way back home after concluding a five-day visit during which he attended the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly. Singh will have a technical overnight halt in Frankfurt before leaving for home on Tuesday. A cake may be cut mid-air to celebrate his 79th birthday on Monday on the New York-Frankfurt leg. In his...
07:22 PM, Sep 26, 2011
New York: India struck back at Pakistan for its Foreign Minister's remarks in the UN General Assembly. A day after External Affairs minister S M Krishna said he was disappointed by S M Qureshi's speech that criticised India for the violence in Kashmir, Krishna got tougher during his address at UN General Assembly, telling Pakistan to stay out of Jammu and Kashmir. The two foreign ministers were due to meet...
08:53 PM, Sep 29, 2010
New York: Stating that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna asked Pakistan to end its illegal occupation of some parts of the state before advising New Delhi. "Kashmir is an internal matter of India," said Krishna, who is here on a 10-day visit to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting. Pointing out that Pakistan is in "illegal occupation of some...
02:44 PM, Sep 23, 2010
New York: Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have told CNN-IBN that Foreign Minister S M Krishna is likely to meet his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in New York. Krishna arrived in the US on Tuesday to lead the Indian delegation at the UN General Assembly. The major meeting he will hold is one with Hillary Clinton, where they will talk about the preparations of Barack Obama’s...
10:25 AM, Sep 22, 2010
