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India abstained in the UN Security Council resolution on a resolution establishing humanitarian immunity in all UN sanctions regimes, claiming that blacklisted terrorist groups, including in its neighboring countries, have taken full advantage of the exception and been able to raise Funding and recruiting fighters.
The 15-nation council, currently chaired by India, voted on Friday on a resolution proposed by the United States and Ireland to create sanctions exempting humanitarian efforts, which Washington claimed “would save countless lives” after it was adopted.
Only India abstained in the vote while all other 14 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, which decides the handling or disbursement of funds, other financial assets, economic resources and provision of necessary goods and services to ensure timely delivery of humanitarian aid is permitted and does not violate the asset freeze imposed by the Security Council or its sanctions committees.
Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, Chairperson of the Council and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, speaking in her national capacity in explanation of vote, said: “Our concerns stem from proven instances of terrorist groups taking full advantage of such humanitarian immunities and mocking the sanctions regime, Including the sanctions regime of the 1267 Sanctions Committee.”
Kamboj also made unabashed references to Pakistan and terrorist groups based on its territory.
“There are also cases in our vicinity of terrorist groups, including those listed by the Security Council, that have reincarnated as humanitarian organizations and civil society groups precisely to evade these sanctions,” she said, apparently referring to Jamaat-ud – Dawa (JuD), which claims to be a humanitarian charity but is widely seen as a front group for Lashkarta (LET).
The Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) is a charity run by terrorist groups JuD and LeT, while the Al Rehmat Trust is backed by another terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), also based in Pakistan.
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“These terrorist groups use the umbrella of the humanitarian aid space to raise funds and recruit fighters,” she said.
“India will call for caution and due diligence while providing humanitarian assistance to proscribed entities under 1267, which continue to flourish in territories recognized by the international community as safe havens for terrorism, with the full hospitality of the state,” she said.
Kamboj reiterated that under no circumstances should banned terrorist groups abuse the humanitarian cover these waivers are designed to provide to expand their terrorist activities in the region and beyond.
“More importantly, such waivers must not facilitate the ‘mainstreaming’ of terrorist entities in our region’s political space. Due diligence and extreme care are therefore absolutely necessary in implementing this resolution,” she said.
It is for this reason that, in the text of the resolution, India seeks a proactive role for the 1267 monitoring team, backed up by robust reporting standards and mechanisms, Kamboj said.
“We regret that these specific issues were not adequately addressed in the final text adopted today. We hope that this shortcoming will be corrected in the future as we review the oversight team’s implementation and feedback on the resolution. “
Ahead of the UN Security Council vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “We hope that members of the Security Council will vote for this resolution because we must do everything in our power to help humanitarian partners reach the world’s most vulnerable people, regardless Where do they live, who do they live with, who controls their territory.”
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed the adoption of the resolution, saying the Security Council sent a clear message that sanctions would not prevent critical humanitarian assistance from reputable humanitarian organizations.
He added that the resolution includes safeguards against abuse and evasion by sanctioned individuals and entities, including by establishing reporting requirements to ensure detection and mitigation of possible aid diversion.
“By providing exceptions for humanitarian activities from the United Nations sanctions regime, the resolution provides much-needed clarity to the international community, providers of humanitarian aid and vital commercial services, which will vital aid and supplies around the world,” he said.
Blinken said that goal is more important than ever as the world faces unprecedented humanitarian needs, with some 339 million people in need of humanitarian aid and nearly 50 million on the brink of famine.
“We are committed to supporting life-saving humanitarian efforts, providing more than $17 billion in bilateral humanitarian assistance in FY 2022,” he said.
Thomas-Greenfield said that while sanctions were an important tool in “our arsenal” to help restrain “bad guys” and deter terrorists without resorting to violence, the humanitarian community argued that some UN sanctions Inadvertently making aid harder to deliver.
The Council has dealt with sanctions exceptions for humanitarian assistance on a case-by-case basis. The U.S. envoy said the humanitarian community had called for a single, standard approach to humanitarian aid that would break out of the U.N. sanctions regime.
“Today, we delivered as requested. In clear language, we have exempted vital humanitarian activity from UN sanctions, and in doing so have made our existing UN sanctions more effective and better able to target bad actors,” she says.
Irish Ambassador Fergal Mythen said the resolution, which establishes a humanitarian exception in all UN sanctions regimes, has a very clear aim to systematically address unintended or unintended humanitarian consequences of UN sanctions regimes.
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