India to pitch for comprehensive reform of UN Security Council

United Nations: India will make a strong pitch for a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council, to create an equitable system that is reflective of current realities, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the UN General Assembly Saturday. Singh, who arrived here Thursday, will participate in the high level segment of the 66th session of the world body when he will also focus on issues like the need for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to tackle the scourge that India has been suffering for decades. [caption id=“attachment_90306” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“India hopes to continue to proactively work towards Security Council reforms.”] [/caption] As Prime Minister of a key emerging economy that is playing a constructive role in contributing to global economic recovery, Singh is expected to reaffirm India’s commitment at the UN to continue working with other countries on furthering global economic and financial stability as well as to foster, strong sustainable and balanced economic growth. On UN Security Council reforms, India feels that unless comprehensive reform is undertaken, the process would only be piecemeal and incomplete. Briefing reporters on the Prime Minister’s participation at the UNGA proceedings, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri expressed optimism on the world body coming out with a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) but would not fix a timeline for that. He said that an agreed text of the CCIT was before a committee of the UN. “My expectation is that the text will see action in the near future. I am cautiously optimistic but I am not going to be giving timelines,” he said, adding India has been pushing for such a document as it was a victim of the scourge for several decades now unlike the US which experienced it only on 9/11. PTI