Stung by China’s UN move on Azhar, India against hidden veto

UNITED NATIONS: India has criticised the use of a “hidden veto” to block efforts to sanction terrorists at the UN Security Council, days after China stopped a move to ban Masood Azhar, the head of Pakistan-based Jaish-eMohammed (JeM).

India’s permanent representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, on Thursday demanded account- ability in such processes. He said the UN’s members are “never” informed of reasons for not acced- ing to requests to sanction terror- ists. He criticised the “anonymity” surrounding the functioning of the Security Council’s Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

Against the backdrop of China blocking India’s bid to ban the mastermind of the Pathankot airbase attack, Akbaruddin said all 15 members of the sanctions committee have a veto. Without naming China, he said no one, except these 15 members, is told who wielded the veto in a specific instance.

“Counter-terror mechanisms such as the sanctions committees that act on behalf of the international community need to build trust, not engender impunity by the use of this form of a hidden veto,” Akbaruddin told the Security Council during a debate on threats to global security by terrorist acts. “The procedures of unanimity and anonymity of the Al Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS sanctions committees need to be revisited. Currently, they result in a lack of accountability,” he said.

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JeM chief Masood Azhar