Every UN secretary-general has flagged the financial situation, but Antonio Guterres has issued the direst warning yet, calling it a 'race to bankruptcy and of imminent financial collapse, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from over 60 international organisations, including United Nations bodies and the India-France-led International Solar Alliance, calling the institutions 'redundant' and 'contrary' to America's interests.
India on Wednesday slammed Switzerland's remarks on minorities at the Human Rights Council, urging the Swiss to focus on their own issues like racism, systematic discrimination, and xenophobia instead of lecturing India.
Residents of Zehri tehsil in Khuzdar district have accused the Pakistani military of carrying out indiscriminate air and drone strikes that have killed civilians, including women and children, amid a siege that has continued for over a month.
India has strongly criticized Pakistan at the UN Human Rights Council, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism and providing safe haven to terrorist networks. India's representative highlighted past terror attacks and questioned Pakistan's credibility.
The 193-member UN General Assembly on Thursday voted to adopt a draft resolution moved by the US to suspend Russia from the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) over allegations that Russian soldiers killed civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
A United Nations commission of inquiry has found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Observing that 140 United Nations member states have already voted to condemn Russia over its unprovoked war and the humanitarian crisis it has unleashed upon the people of Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield said Russia should not have a position of authority in that body, nor should the international community allow Russia to use their role on the Council as a tool of propaganda to suggest they have a legitimate concern about human rights.
The 18 new members were elected by absolute majority through a secret ballot.
The announcement came barely a day after the UNHRC condemned the Trump administration for its policy of separating children from the families at the US-Mexico border.
Pakistan on Wednesday failed to win a re-election to the United Nations' human rights body. The 193-member General Assembly voted here to elect 18 new members of the UN Human Rights Council.
India has strongly condemned Pakistan's remarks on Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council, calling it a "failed state" that spreads falsehoods and relies on international handouts. India's delegate, Kshitij Tyagi, highlighted the progress made in Jammu and Kashmir and said Pakistan is in no position to lecture anyone on human rights, given its own record of abuses and support for terrorism.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday stoutly opposed a United States sponsored resolution coming up against the country at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council, terming it as "unfair and unjust".
In a significant victory, India has been re-elected to the UN's main human rights body for the period of 2015-17, receiving the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group.
India on Wednesday hit out at Pakistan and the OIC for raising the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Commission and said the grouping has 'helplessly' allowed itself to be held 'hostage' by Islamabad.
'The Congress submitted four names to the government as the people who should accompany the delegation.' 'I don't know what happened to those names.' 'When I was approached, I told them to speak to my party.' 'I have no further involvement with this delegation.'
President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council and prohibiting any future funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Trump also directed the US to review its participation in UNESCO, citing concerns about anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment within the organizations. The executive order argues that the UNHRC, UNESCO, and UNRWA have drifted from their missions and act contrary to US interests. Trump previously halted funds for UNRWA during his first term, and President Joe Biden put a block on US funds for UNRWA in January 2024 over allegations that staff for the agency participated in Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack against Israel.
AG Mukul Rohatgi led the Indian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council.
Waltz after being elected as the Co-Chair of India Caucus in January last year had said that India is the world's largest democracy and an important strategic partner for the United States.
'A country that hosts and even celebrates UNSC-sanctioned terrorists, commenting on India whose pluralistic ethos and democratic credentials are exemplars for the world, is a contrast for everyone to see'
India abstained on the resolution, along with France, Japan, Netherlands, and Romania among others. Those voting against the resolution included Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany and the US.
For India to view the new Sri Lankan leadership only through the prism of the past or through their narrow view on China, is fraught with possibilities that should be avoided, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
India on Wednesday voted in favour of a draft resolution tabled in the UN Human Rights Council that condemns and strongly rejects recent "public and premeditated" acts of desecration of the Quran.
Taking to Twitter, United Nations Human Right Council said, 'At its 35th special session, the @UN Human Rights Council decided to create a new fact-finding mission to investigate alleged #HumanRightsViolations in the Islamic Republic of #Iran related to the protests that began on 16 September 2022.'
Suspension is the only method provided for in the UN resolution that established the Human Rights Council back in 2005.
India on Thursday abstained in the UN General Assembly on a vote moved by the US to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over allegations that Russian soldiers killed civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Abstaining in the UN General Assembly on a vote to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, India on Thursday asserted that if it has 'chosen' any side, it is the side of 'peace and it is for an immediate end to violence.'
Iran's Attorney General Mohammad Javad Montazeri said that the morality police 'was abolished by the same authorities who installed it', The New York Times reported.
The resolution was adopted by a vote of 33 in favour, China and Eritrea voting against and 12 abstentions, including India, Armenia, Bolivia, Cameroon, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.
India's report outlining its steps towards the promotion and protection of human rights will be taken up for review as part of a mechanism under which UN member States review the human rights performance of fellow States, on Thursday in Geneva, according to the ministry of external affairs.
China on Saturday maintained silence on India's abstention at the voting at the UNHRC on the human rights situation in Xinjiang
India on Thursday abstained on a draft resolution in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka which was adopted.
Several posters alleging harassment of minorities and women were put up at a square outside the UN building in Geneva coinciding with a session of the UN Human Rights Council.
India urged Canada to disallow activities of groups promoting extremism, prevent attacks on places of worship of religious and racial minorities, and enhance measures to address hate crimes and hate speech.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov briefly admitted that Russia had suffered a 'significant' loss of its troops in Ukraine, calling the casualties 'a huge tragedy' for the country in an interview with Sky News.
The countries voting in favour included France, Germany, Japan, Nepal, The United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Dutch envoy said to Tirumurti "You should not have abstained in the GA. Respect the UN Charter."
In a secret-ballot voting in the 193-member UN General Assembly on that race, Pakistan secured 169 votes.
Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Trudeau's statements, asserting that they contained outrageous claims of genocide relating to past conflicts in the country.
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