India abstains from voting on UN General Assembly resolution on Myanmar, supports ASEAN initiative
India abstains from voting on UN General Assembly resolution on Myanmar, supports ASEAN initiative
FollowIndia on Friday abstained from voting on the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA's) resolution for an arms embargo against Myanmar, saying its views were not reflected in the draft resolution before the Assembly passed it. The UN's resolution demonstrated widespread global opposition to the Myanmar military and demanded that the country's democratic transition be restored.
The UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution 'The situation in Myanmar'' on Friday with 119 Member States voting in favour, including Myanmar while 36 nations abstained, including Myanmar's neighbours - India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Laos, Nepal and Thailand. Russia also abstained.
Belarus was the sole country voting against it.
"The fact that there is lack of support from all neighbouring countries, as well as several countries in the region itself, should, hopefully, serve as an eye-opener to those who choose to pursue a hasty course of action," India's ambassador to the United Nations TS Tirumurti said, adding that it does not believe that the tabling of this resolution for adoption at this juncture, is "conducive to aiding our joint efforts towards strengthening the democratic process in Myanmar."
In the explanation of the vote in the General Assembly hall, Tirumurti said as Myanmar’s immediate neighbour and close friend of its people, India is cognizant of the "serious impact of political instability" and the potential of its spill over beyond Myanmar’s borders.
"We already have such an ongoing initiative under the aegis of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It is important that we extend support to the ASEAN efforts," Tirumurti said.
"During the discussions on this resolution, we had engaged in a spirit of finding a constructive and pragmatic way forward and had accordingly shared our suggestions to those who piloted this resolution," he said.
"However, we find that our views have not been reflected in the draft being considered for adoption today. We would like to reiterate that a consultative and constructive approach involving the neighbouring countries and the region, remains important as the international community strives for the peaceful resolution of the issue," Tirumurti said.
India has been calling for greater engagement with the objective of peacefully resolving all issues.
Tirumurti also noted that Security Council has expressed strong support for ASEAN's positive and constructive role in facilitating a peaceful solution in support of the people of Myanmar.
The UN's resolution called "upon the Myanmar armed forces to respect the people's will as freely expressed by results of the general election of November 8, 2020, to end the state of emergency, to respect all human rights of people of Myanmar and to allow the sustained democratic transition of Myanmar, including the opening of the democratically elected parliament, and by working towards bringing all national institutions, including the armed forces, under a fully inclusive civilian government that is representative of the people's will."
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