UN Chief distances self from Kashmir report; says India respects diversity
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on day two of his three-day visit to Delhi had a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where both sides discussed important areas such as UN reforms, SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) and the challenges of climate change and terrorism, according to highly placed sources.
Later on Tuesday, in an interaction organised by his office in New Delhi, he denounced terrorism as a "plague" that affects the world. With no consensus on the definition of "terrorism" by the world body, the UN Secretary General said that while there is "zero tolerance" towards terrorism, defining the term has been a "complex" problem.
"There is no agreement on the definition of the terrorism. It's not so dramatic because there are number of tools and instruments working on that. But the problem of definition of terrorism is several complexities. For instance, the terrorism committed by state. So there are a number of things that are complicated to have a common definition of terrorism. It is true we never managed to have it and we never managed to have a true convention because of the definition", said the UN Chief.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had recently raised the same issue at the UNGA since India had proposed the CCIT (Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism). Supporting India's position he said, "India has been in the frontline of supporting this, and we fully support India in this regard."
To a specific question on the OHCHR report on Kashmir which was a scathing report on the acts of the Indian state in the valley and was rejected by India, the UN chief without commenting on the contents of the report distanced himself from the author of the report, the then High Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, saying that these bodies are "autonomous" with "independent" mandates.
"The HRC is an autonomous area and I don't discuss their reports. They have their own High Commissioners who play their role, and countries can disagree with them. Countries can choose not to accept their reports. We need to respect the independence of their mandates", he said.
Senior Indian officials said that the comment made by the UNSG is certainly not an "endorsement" of the report itself. The official said, "It is not an endorsement of the content of the report itself. As head of the world body he would not undermine an official who is mandated with a particular job."
With many adverse reports religious tolerance on India, there was one question on the issue of communalism, but Antonio Guterres struck a note of positivity. He said that India was a "diverse" country and celebrated India's "religious harmony".
"I have always seen India as an extremely diverse country and welcoming refugees, and respect for different people. Like in any other part of the world, India too has some forms of extremism, but I think the major problems it faces are from poverty and inequality. My wife was born in Goa, and I am amazed by how there is perfect inter-religious harmony, which is the prevailing Indian tradition, and it is something India should cherish and preserve", he said.
Earlier in the day, he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial in Rajghat and hailed him as a "great soul" and humanity's "guide in our troubled world". Guterres also participated in the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention.
On Wednesday, Guterres will attend the 'Champions of Earth' ceremony. He will meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and later go to Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple in Punjab. Guterres had visited India in July 2016, just months ahead of the election for Secretary General.
Later on Tuesday, in an interaction organised by his office in New Delhi, he denounced terrorism as a "plague" that affects the world. With no consensus on the definition of "terrorism" by the world body, the UN Secretary General said that while there is "zero tolerance" towards terrorism, defining the term has been a "complex" problem.
"There is no agreement on the definition of the terrorism. It's not so dramatic because there are number of tools and instruments working on that. But the problem of definition of terrorism is several complexities. For instance, the terrorism committed by state. So there are a number of things that are complicated to have a common definition of terrorism. It is true we never managed to have it and we never managed to have a true convention because of the definition", said the UN Chief.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had recently raised the same issue at the UNGA since India had proposed the CCIT (Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism). Supporting India's position he said, "India has been in the frontline of supporting this, and we fully support India in this regard."
To a specific question on the OHCHR report on Kashmir which was a scathing report on the acts of the Indian state in the valley and was rejected by India, the UN chief without commenting on the contents of the report distanced himself from the author of the report, the then High Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, saying that these bodies are "autonomous" with "independent" mandates.
"The HRC is an autonomous area and I don't discuss their reports. They have their own High Commissioners who play their role, and countries can disagree with them. Countries can choose not to accept their reports. We need to respect the independence of their mandates", he said.
Senior Indian officials said that the comment made by the UNSG is certainly not an "endorsement" of the report itself. The official said, "It is not an endorsement of the content of the report itself. As head of the world body he would not undermine an official who is mandated with a particular job."
With many adverse reports religious tolerance on India, there was one question on the issue of communalism, but Antonio Guterres struck a note of positivity. He said that India was a "diverse" country and celebrated India's "religious harmony".
"I have always seen India as an extremely diverse country and welcoming refugees, and respect for different people. Like in any other part of the world, India too has some forms of extremism, but I think the major problems it faces are from poverty and inequality. My wife was born in Goa, and I am amazed by how there is perfect inter-religious harmony, which is the prevailing Indian tradition, and it is something India should cherish and preserve", he said.
Earlier in the day, he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial in Rajghat and hailed him as a "great soul" and humanity's "guide in our troubled world". Guterres also participated in the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention.
On Wednesday, Guterres will attend the 'Champions of Earth' ceremony. He will meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and later go to Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple in Punjab. Guterres had visited India in July 2016, just months ahead of the election for Secretary General.
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