New Delhi: While voting in favour of a resolution that condemned attacks and military use of schools, India informed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that it should not be interpreted to apply to “non-armed conflict situations”, with an eye on India’s own counter-insurgency operations.
During the last week of October and Kenya’s month-long presidency, Africa continued to dominate the discourse, with a closed-door emergency meeting on the military coup in Sudan, a presidential statement on South Sudan elections, renewal of mandates of UN missions to Western Sahara, and discussions on the field visit to Mali and Niger. There was also a high-level open debate on the relationship between the UN and the African Union, followed by the adoption of a presidential statement.
The UN mission to Colombia was also renewd.
But, the highlight of the week was the adoption of the first-ever UNSC resolution to underline the need to maintain the right to education during an armed conflict.
The resolution, drafted by Norway and Niger and co-sponsored by 98 member states, was tabled on October 29. It was passed unanimously by all 15 members of the Security Council by a show of hands, but India was the only country to give an explanation for its vote after the passage. India is currently a non-permanent member of the Council for until December 2022.
India’s deputy permanent representative R. Ravindra stated that India had voted for the resolution on the assumption that it would only apply to armed conflict.
Stressing this principle, Ravindra stated that as per India’s understanding, the resolution is aimed “only to facilitate[e] the continuation and the protection of education in the situations of armed conflict”.
“The resolution should not be interpreted as applicable to non-armed conflict situations,” he reiterated.
The senior Indian diplomat argued that if the resolution’s provisions were applied beyond armed conflict scenarios, it would contravene the UNSC’s mandate of maintaining international peace and security.
“Such a narrative will be detrimental to the working of other organs of the UN and we should avoid transgressing into issues which does not pertains to the mandate of the Security Council,” he stated.
Among the 22 points in the operative part of the resolution, the Council specifically condemned the “military use of schools in contravention of international law, and recognizes that the use by armed groups may render schools legitimate targets of attacks, thus endangering children’s and teachers’ safety as well as their education”.
The resolution also refers to the Safe Schools Declaration, which commits members states to protect schools during military operations and not use them for military purposes. While it has been signed by 112 countries so far, it has not been endorsed by the US, China, Russia and India.
During counter-insurgency operations in Naxal-dominated regions, Kashmir or the Northeast, government schools are sometimes used to accommodate security forces. Schools are also targets of terror groups.
In the UN secretary general’s report on Children and Armed Conflict released in May this year, the UN “verified the use of seven schools by Indian security forces for four months” in 2020, which were vacated by the end of that year.
Antonio Guterres had also called upon India to not use pellets against children and urged New Delhi to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration.
Under Indian law and court judgments, security forces are restricted from using schools to shelter troops.
According to Security Council Report, an independent research group, the negotiations for the resolution had been protracted and continued long after the first draft was circulated on August 25.
India and China first broke their ‘silence’ to oppose language, which sought to bring attacks against universities and other higher educational institutions and the right to education of youth within the scope of the resolution. It was finally decided to limit the range of the text to only children and armed conflict.
According to the Security Council Report, India insisted that the language should make it explicit that the resolution applied to a narrowly-defined “armed conflict” governed by the “applicable” international law. The Wire was able to confirm this independently. These language proposals were not mentioned in the final text, but sources added that some changes were made in the preamble.
India was also concerned that the resolution put several obligations on nations that are “intrusive”, as per sources.
The approved UNSC resolution urged states to promote remote learning solutions in conflict situations, especially when schools are under attack. It also calls on nations to assist in continuing education for refugees and displaced children, recognising their right to education.
This Week in UNSC
Mexico assumed the mantle of the monthly presidency of the UNSC on Monday. The week begins with the half-yearly debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a private meeting with the president of the International Court of Justice. The Security Council and General Assembly will vote on filling up vacancies in the ICJ on Friday.
Besides, there are meetings on the Central African Republic and Syria scheduled this week.
This is a weekly column that tracks the UNSC during India’s current term as a non-permanent member. Previous columns can be found here.
