The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Israeli embassy staff in India, saying any acts of terrorism are "criminal and unjustifiable". A statement issued by UNSC President Kodjo Menan of Togo said Council members "condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in New Delhi, India aimed at Israel's diplomatic personnel, which resulted in injuries to diplomatic personnel and civilians."
Aiyar, who has stoked controversies in the past with his comments, made the remarks at the launch of the book Nehru's First Recruits.
India has reiterated its reluctance to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty despite United States President Barack Obama's call for all nations to sign the disputed pact.
India has said that it is 'untenable' that 137 developing nations are represented by only one permanent member in the UNSC
"Our mission in New York (at the UN headquarters) is trying to break the long-standing deadlock over reform, and we will continue with our efforts to persuade Governments that India should have a permanent seat on the Security Council -- alongside Brazil, Japan and Germany, and that there should be representation from Africa," Minister for the Middle East Kim Howells told Labour lawmaker Ashok Kumar in the House of Commons in London on Wednesday.
Asserting that the majority members of the UN General Assembly support expansion of the Security Council, India today said that the body would remain beset with the "current problem" unless it was reformed.
India has expressed concern that foreign fighters involved in the conflict in Syria have moved to other places as mercenaries, as New Delhi underlined that it is ready to play a constructive role in the Security Council to help realise the objective of the West Asian country reclaiming its place in the comity of nations.
Pakistan and China strongly feel that India should not become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, as it would disturb the balance of power in the region, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy made a strong pitch for India's inclusion as a permanent member of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, which he said needs to be expanded to make it more inclusive."Did you know that India... in 30 years time... the world's most populous nation, doesn't have a permanent seat on the Security Council?" said the French president, hosted by Columbia University as part of the World Leaders Forum.
Tirumurti also said India is 'deeply concerned' about the welfare and security of the Indian community, including a large number of Indian students, in Ukraine.
India will participate in a debate on reform and expansion of United Nations Security Council to be held at the world body on December 11, government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The United States should support India's bid for a permanent United Nations Security Council seat and work actively for the expansion of the top multilateral body, former American diplomat Karl Inderfurth said on Thursday."It is time for the US to publicly support India's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and to work actively with India and others to accomplish the goal of expansion of the UNSC," he said.
Backing India's bid for a permanent membership, United States has started reaching out to other Security Council members on the reform of the apex United Nations body but said it could not set a target date for expansion of the UNSC.
Jaishankar, who presided over the UNSC Briefing: Global Counterterrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward, described terrorism as an existential threat to international peace and security and said it knows no borders, nationality, or race.
'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'
The UN General Assembly on Monday adopted a negotiating text by consensus for the long-pending Security Council reforms, setting the stage for talks on the issue at its 70th session beginning on Tuesday, boosting India's bid for a permanent seat in the revamped world body.
India has slammed the "indifference" of some UNSC towards restraining terrorists, saying it has questioned the Security Council's ability to combat terrorism.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque conveyed his country's position when he met External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly's session in New York on Saturday.
The 15-nation body includes China as a permanent veto-wielding member.
India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu, on Monday wrote a letter to President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, expressing New Delhi's strong disappointment over the decision regarding roll-over of the intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) on UNSC reforms into the next session of the General Assembly that begins this month.
Once identified, these individuals are drawn into private groups where they are exposed to manipulative content, including fabricated videos depicting atrocities allegedly committed by security forces, the officials said.
India has staked a claim for one of the 10 non-permanent seats for the two-year term during 2011-12 in the Asia quota.
Russia and China -- the two veto wielding United Nations Security Council members -- on Monday sought "comprehensive" reforms to make the council more democratic, as they welcomed India's entry into the UNSC as a non-permanent member.
The diplomat made the remarks replying to lawmakers' questions on New Delhi abstaining from several UN vote on Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Favouring a greater role for New Delhi in the global arena, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday backed its bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council and sought expansion to G-8 to include India in it in view of the "new realities".
She lamented that Africa despite being the largest continent in terms of number of the countries and India, which has has one-sixth of the world's population, still don't have permanent membership of the UNSC.
Shringla said India will continue to work towards the reformed United Nations during its stint as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Kamboj said the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to a large-scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children.
He said Beijing resorted to this move to allow the 'relevant parties' to reach a consensus.
Days after the United States backed India's quest for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, Germany on Tuesday suggested that New Delhi will have to continue to work under the format of G-4 to achieve it, arguing that no country could alone get the required votes.
Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi has opposed the expansion of the United Nations Security Council by including countries like India which would spur a 'competition' with nations like Pakistan wanting to get in.
"Whether it is in Afghanistan or against India, groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) continue to operate with both impunity and encouragement," India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said
"The 21st century peacekeeping must be anchored in a strong ecosystem of technology and innovation that can facilitate UN peacekeeping operations in implementing their mandates in complex environments," India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said
The powerful UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned the 'heinous and cowardly' terror attack.
The United Kingdom, France and Nepal have supported India's candidature as a permanent member of a reformed United Nations Security Council as member nations expressed frustration at the lack of progress on long-pending reforms in the powerful UN body.
India has said the multiple terror attacks in Paris and Beirut highlight the urgent need to finalise a global convention on terrorism.
The African Union has signalled that it is ready to negotiate on its demand for 2 veto-wielding permanent seats on the UNSC.
