India begins its two-year tenure as non-permanent member of UNSC

India formally started its 8th tenure in the UN Security Council. Mexico, Kenya Norway and Ireland also joined India as non-permanent members of UNSC. A flag installation ceremony was held on Monday to formalize their term. On the occasion of the flag ceremony, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Hon’ble Mr. TS Tirumurti said that the country will use its tenure “to bring human-centric and inclusive solutions” to matters of international peace and security. “India will be a voice for the developing world,” he added. Mr. Tribhuvan Darbari, MD & CEO Texmaco Defence Systems Private Limited said that as a non-permanent member of UNSC, India can draw on its past UN experience to nudge nations towards multilateralism.”
There were five vacant seats in the UNSC, out of which four were filled by the first round of voting on Wednesday. Along with India, Kenya, Ireland, Mexico and Norway obtained the requisite two-thirds majority in the General Assembly of the United Nations. Member States elected India to the non-permanent seat of the Security Council for the term 2021-22 with overwhelming support. India got 184 out of the 192 valid votes polled.
“We are inspired by their contribution to the council’s work over the last two years. We welcome the delegations of Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway as we begin our two-year journey together,” Mr. Tirumurti said.

Source: NDTV – Indian Flag Installed At UNSC As India Begins Eighth Term As Non-permanent Member

Video – India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Hon’ble Mr. TS Tirumurti speaks at the flag installation ceremony for incoming #UNSC Members.

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PR @ambtstirumurti speaks at the flag installation ceremony for incoming #UNSC Members.

India has formally started its 8th tenure in the Security Council today. @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @harshvshringla @DrSJaishankar pic.twitter.com/RoughFZe4y

— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) January 4, 2021

Mr. Tribhuvan Darbari said that India’s victory was expected since it had already got the endorsement from the 55-member Asia Pacific group, including China and Pakistan in 2020.
Hon’ble Primeminister of India Shri Narendra Modi thanked the global community in his tweet. He tweeted, “Deeply grateful for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India’s membership of the UN Security Council.”

Mr. TS Darbari said that India has always played a crucial role as a member of the United Nations. Talking about the role of India in the United Nations, Mr. TS Darbari said that India has a rich history of the consistent international, multilateral posture of cooperation and fraternity, especially when it comes to the UN. The origins of Indian multilateral engagement dates back to 28 June 1919 when India signed the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War and created the League of Nations, the precursor of the UN, wherein India, too, was a member. India, also the original member of the UN that signed the Declaration by the UN at Washington on 1 January 1942, participated in the historic UN Conference of International Organization at San Francisco from 25 April to 26 June 1945.
Mr. TS Darbari further added that India, since its independence, has been an active participant in all initiatives undertaken by the UN and the various UN organs including the various discussions on the Agenda for Peace and the Agenda for Development, the Millennium Development Goals, and various UN summits, including most importantly on climate change. Further talking about the contribution of India to the UN, Mr. TS Darbari also added that India also contributed most importantly by being instrumental in establishing the G77 of developing states at the UN, other than supporting the establishment of various bodies like the UNICEF on a permanent basis, the UNDP, the UNEP, and the restructuring of the economic and social fields of the UN and the UN Development Fund.

Mr. Tribhuvan Darbari said that India must become a permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations. Supporting the case, he said that in the arena of peacekeeping, India has remained the largest cumulative contributor of UN peacekeeping troops with around 180,000 troops since the 1950s. Currently, around 7700 Indian peacekeepers have been deployed in 13 missions (out of the total of 16) in 11 countries. (Permanent Mission of India to the UN, New York 2016)

Mr. TS Darbari further added that today, most significantly, India has almost twice the number of peacekeepers deployed in the ground as do China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States combined – also known as the P5, the five countries that wield veto power at the Council. In terms of financial contributions to the UN, India with US$ 20.46 million ranks 23rd in the list of contributors.
India to be UNSC President in Aug 2021

India will be the UNSC President in August 2021 and will preside over the council again for a month in 2022. The presidency of the council is held by each of the members in turn for one month. The tradition of the flag installation ceremony was introduced by Kazakhstan in 2018.

Sources:

Republic World: Indian Flag Installed At UNSC As India Begins Eighth Term As Non-permanent Member

Times of India: India raises terrorism issue at UNSC during Indian Flag Installation Ceremony