India Supports Israel At The UN Vote

• 13 Jun 2019

Why is it in News?

India was congratulated by Israel’s PM on 13 June after India voted on 11 June in favour of a decision introduced by Israel that objected to granting consultative status to a Palestinian group at the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Relevance of the News: The news highlights a significant shift in India approach towards Israel-Palestine conflict.

About the UN Vote:

• India voted in favour of Israel in the ECOSOC to deny the Palestinian non-governmental organisation 'Shahed' the observer status, after Israel said that the organisation did not disclose its ties with Hamas.
• During the voting at the ECOSOC, the US, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, South Korea and Canada polled in Israel’s favor whereas China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others voted against it.
• The proposal made by the Palestinian NGO ‘Shahed' to obtain observer status was rejected by a 28-14 vote.
• According to Israel, the organization ‘Shahed’ has links with Hizbullah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas that are considered as terrorist organizations by many countries.
  

Change in India’s Approach:

• India’s position on Middle East Peace Process has been clear. India supports a negotiated settlement resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel as endorsed in the Quartet Roadmap and relevant UNSC Resolutions.
• India has also always played a proactive role in garnering support for the Palestinian cause in multilateral fora.
• However, in 2015 India abstained during a voting at the UNHRC on a resolution related to violence in Gaza caused by Israel which was seen as a “significant move” and a pro-Israel tilt India’s behavior attributed to growing India-Israel ties.
• India’s vote on 11 June is important because this is the first time that India has actively voted on a resolution at the UN that is being perceived as pro-Israel.

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):

• ECOSOC is one of the six main organs of the UN established by the UN Charter in 1946.
• It is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for implementation of the internationally agreed development goals.
• ECOSOC engages a wide variety of stakeholders viz. policymakers, parliamentarians, academics, foundations, business sector representatives and registered NGOs in a productive dialogue on sustainable development through a programmatic cycle of meetings.
• The work of the Council is guided by an issue-based approach, and there is an annual theme that accompanies each programmatic cycle.
• The Council consists of 54 Members States, which are elected yearly by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.