UN Security Council of yesterday is always late today: Ruchira Kamboj

In a scathing criticism, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj has said the UN Security Council of yesterday is always late today and questioned whether 1945's security plumbing will work in the year 2023.

If the trillion dollar question is to ensure peace, do we have a peace infrastructure representative of the current times and contemporary realities? Kamboj asked.

Speaking at the Security Council open debate on Threats to International Peace and Security: Transnational Organised Crime, Growing Challenges, and New Threats' on Thursday, Kamboj questioned whether 2023 is the new 1945, referring to the year when the powerful UN body came into existence.

 

Will 1945's security plumbing work today? The UNSC of yesterday is always late today! she said.

India, the world's most populous country, has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member at the UN high table, which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st Century.

The G4 nations of Brazil, India, Japan, and Germany had said last month that the urgency of reform cannot be overstated.

The current composition of the Security Council fails to reflect the contemporary geopolitical realities and does not provide the effectiveness to address current global challenges.

It is no surprise that, time and again, we have witnessed the Security Council unable to live up to expectations in addressing some of the most serious threats to international peace and security in a timely and effective manner, the G4 nations had said.

Kamboj quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to say that when threats are global, the response cannot be just local and the world has to come together to defeat these threats.

She stressed that the international community needs to address growing political or state complicity in suppressing the activities of transnational criminal groups.

Some states continue to provide support, and safe havens to offenders of crime syndicates who have not only committed serious crimes but also continue to harm the economies of their adversary-States, through means such as counterfeiting and the dissemination of the currency of the adversary-State, supply of arms, drugs and other means to support terror activities across the border, she said, adding that actions of such states should be held accountable.

Further, the Indian envoy said that many states award economic citizenship to criminal and economic offenders providing sanctuaries to evade their arrest and extradition to other countries, in return for such criminals bringing foreign currency deposits to the State-accomplice.

This should stop. Such states should fulfil their obligations under the concerned resolutions of the Security Council, which affirms this as a primary responsibility of member states in the endeavour to prevent, and counter-terrorist acts, she added.

Kamboj highlighted that member states that suffer due to poor governance and inadequate oversight of financial institutions are more vulnerable to exploitation by terrorist entities and organized criminals.

The implementation of the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in strengthening the governance structures of financial and economic assets should be one of our topmost priorities to counter the menace.

India pointed out that investing in technological capabilities and fostering innovation is vital to stay ahead in the battle against organised crime.

Developing tools to track and combat cyber threats, disrupting illicit financial flows, and improving border security measures are essential components of this technological response, she said.

Kamboj underlined the need to work towards enhancing cooperation among law enforcement agencies and governments around the world in intelligence-gathering and sharing, and deterrent measures.

Cooperation in the legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime; early return of offenders and the efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime should be enhanced and streamlined.

She said a common platform should be set up for sharing experiences and best practices including successful cases of extradition, gaps in existing systems of extradition, and legal assistance.

The Principles of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), and the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime (UNOTC), especially areas related to International Cooperation should be fully and effectively implemented, she said.