United Nations: India told the UN that the world body "cannot disengage" with Africa by "sub-contracting peacekeeping" to regional arrangements as impartiality of the workers could be at stake.
India's Acting Permanent Representative Ambassador Bhagwant Bishnoi cited the recent report of the High Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations that has "highlighted the fact that peacekeeping cannot substitute for political solutions".
"No purpose would be served by having regional organisations struggle to manage conflict with military tools while political processes are either not underway or have not been concluded," he told a UN Security Council debate on 'Regional Organisations and Contemporary Challenges of Global Security'.
Bishnoi also cautioned that while regional organisations can at times play a useful role in assisting the UN, the primacy of the United Nations itself cannot be denied.
"Talking of Africa, the United Nations cannot disengage with the continent by sub-contracting peacekeeping to regional arrangements. We would need to start worrying if the impartiality of peacekeeping was called into questions.
"This, however, is a possibility that cannot be ruled out with the regionalisation and sub-regionalisation of peacekeeping," he said.
Bishnoi stressed that organisations formed on the basis of language, religion or historical coincidence do not have any role under the UN Charter.
"Chapter 8 of the UN Charter refers to regional arrangements and agencies. There is, therefore, a clear requirement of vicinity or geographical contiguity.
"It is important to note that Chapter 8 does not envisage any role for organisations formed on any other basis, be they of language, religion or historical coincidence.
"Any overly liberal interpretation of terminology would be violative of the Charter besides also being counter productive," Bishnoi said, adding that India supports the role of regional organisations in the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 8 of the UN Charter.
"The principles of national sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of states must be fully respected," he said.
