India To Chair 3 UNSC Committees

• 09 Jan 2021

After India joined the Security Council as a non-permanent member for 2021-22, it has been asked to chair three important subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Security Council – the Taliban Sanctions Committee, the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Libya Sanctions Committee.

1.Taliban Sanctions Committee

• Also called the 1988 sanctions committee as it was formed through resolution number 1988 in 2011 by splitting the 1267 sanctions regime on al-Qaeda – amid growing concern worldwide at alarming levels of violence in Afghanistan that has been blamed on the Taliban.

2.Counter-Terrorism Committee

• It will be chaired by India in 2022. The panel was formed in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York and that India had led it during its last stint as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council during 2011-12. The chairing of this committee has special resonance of India, which has not only been in the forefront of fighting terrorism, especially cross-border terrorism, but has also been one of its biggest victims.

3.Libya Sanctions Committee

• Also known as the 1970 Sanctions Committee, it is a “very important subsidiary body” of the Security Council that implements a sanctions regime, including a two-way arms embargo, assets freeze, travel ban and measures to prevent illicit export of petroleum. India will chair this committee at a “critical juncture, when there is international focus on Libya and on the peace process” in that country.

Advantage of the Chair

• India’s chairing the Taliban Sanctions Committee will make a difference as it will have the ability to set the agenda.
• The Chair sets the agenda whereas member states can only make representations.
• The chair can also take up unsolicited issues. That’s the single-most important aspect of being the chair – the members may disagree but the chair can make a point by bringing an issue to the table.