When it comes to sanctioning world's most dreaded terrorists, impunity is being facilitated in UNSC: India

Politics should never ever provide cover to evade accountability, Jaishankar said

India said on Thursday that it is regrettable that in the UN Security Council, when it comes to sanctioning some of the world's most dreaded terrorists, impunity is being facilitated and politics providing cover to evade accountability, in a veiled jibe at China which has blocked blacklisting of Pakistan-based terrorists on many occasions.

"The fight against impunity is critical to the larger pursuit of securing peace and justice. The Security Council must send an unambiguous and unequivocal message on this count," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the 15-nation UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine ‘Fight against impunity’.

The briefing, chaired by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, was held Thursday as world leaders gathered in the UN headquarters for the high-level 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

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Addressing the Council briefing were UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly and Foreign Ministers of other UNSC members.

"Politics should never ever provide cover to evade accountability. Nor indeed to facilitate impunity. Regrettably, we have seen this of late in this very Chamber, when it comes to sanctioning some of the world’s most dreaded terrorists," Jaishankar said, with China listening.

"If egregious attacks committed in broad daylight are left unpunished, this Council must reflect on the signals we are sending on impunity. There must be consistency if we are to ensure credibility,” he said.

Bids by India, US and other western allies to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists under the Security Council’s sanctions regime have been blocked and put on hold on various occasions by Islamabad’s all-weather ally and veto wielding permanent member China in the 15-nation Council.