India-United Nations Relations
The year 2012 was busy with important milestones such as India’s second UPR in May 2012, the election of a new Director-General of ILO, the convening of the first- ever Extraordinary Session of the WMO on the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), continued State consultations on the ICRC-led review of humanitarian law, the creation of the Nansen Initiative by UNHCR, the Transformative Agenda of OCHA, the adoption of the Migration Crisis Operational Framework by the IOM Council and the sudden convening of a Diplomatic Conference on Industrial Designs and Geographic Indications by the developed States in WIPO.
Human Rights India continued to play an active role in the Human Rights Council (HRC) with the resumption of its membership in July 2011 with 181 votes out of 193. Besides its three regular sessions (February – March; June-July; and September 2012), a Special Session on Syria was held in June, 2012. India’s second UPR was held on 24 May 2012. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Goolam E. Vahanvati, Attorney-General of India.
India served as a member of the troika for the UPR of Poland and Sri Lanka. Eminent Indians continued to serve with distinction as members of important Treaty- Monitoring Bodies and Human Rights mechanisms including Shri Dilip Lahiri (Member, Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination); Smt. Indira Jaisingh (Member, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women); Shri Chandrashekhar Dasgupta (Member, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). Shri Anand Grover continued his mandate as the Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health; and Shri Kishore Singh as well, as the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) The highest decision-making body of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the IOM Council, held its 101st Session from 27-30 November 2012. The Session was notable for the adoption of a Resolution on the IOM Migration Crisis Operational Framework (IMCOF).
Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) has remained as the largest and most comprehensive global platform for dialogue and cooperation on international migration and development. The Sixth Annual GFMD 2012 Summit Meeting was held on 21-22 November 2012 in Pailles, Mauritius. Shri Dilip Sinha, PR of India to the UN, Geneva led the Indian delegation. India had provided US$ 50,000 as a onetime and first time grant to GFMD on the request of the current Chair, Mauritius to all States.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
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The 63rd Session of the Executive Committee of the UNHCR (ExCom) was held from 1-5 October 2012. The institutional meetings leading up to the 63rd Session centered on strengthening UNHCR’s efficiency in discharge of its core duties on international protection and collaboration efforts with other UN organizations in humanitarian exigencies.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees visited India on 19-20 December 2012 for the Fourth Annual Open-Ended Bilateral Consultations between India and UNHCR.
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) During the year under review, the Permanent Mission of India participated in all the briefing sessions that Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) organized in Geneva (as per established norms, OCHA policy is negotiated in New York and implemented through the Geneva office). The Mission also drew attention of OCHA to the need for an exit strategy for its new field-based humanitarian intervention mechanism called Transformative Agenda whereby the mechanism is led by an UN humanitarian coordinator
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) India actively participated in the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances held in Beijing, from 20-26 June 2012, which adopted the ‘Treaty for the Protection of Audiovisual Performances’. The Indian delegation led by Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) attended the 50th Series of Meetings of Assemblies of Member States of WIPO in Geneva from 1-9 October 2012. As a member of the Development Agenda Group, India actively worked towards promoting the incorporation of the development agenda recommendations in the works of all the relevant committees of WIPO.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) India continued its active engagement in all UNCTAD meetings of the Trade and Development Board (TDB), Multi-Year and Single-Year expert meetings. The Indian delegation led by Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry participated in the UNCTAD XIII Ministerial Conference held in Doha, from 21-26 April 2012. Mr. Ashok Chawla, Chairperson, Competition Commission of India led the Indian delegation at the Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy from 9-11 July 2012, and Ad-Hoc Expert Meeting on “Consumer Protection: The Interface between Competition and Consumer Policies” from 12-13 July 2012. Mr. T.C.A. Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director of Export-Import Bank of India participated in the Fourth Session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on International Cooperation: South–South Cooperation and Regional Integration as a panelist on ‘Trade finance: challenges and Opportunities’, held in Geneva from 24-25 October 2012.
United Nations Commission on Science, Technology and Development India actively participated in the one-day open meeting, convened by the Chair of CSTD on 18 May 2012, involving all Member States and other stakeholders, to identify a shared understanding about enhanced cooperation on public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, as per the UNGA Resolution A/Res/66/184. The Indian delegation
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actively coordinated its position with IBSA countries proposing setting up of a Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation.
Group of Fifteen (G-15) India participated in the 35th Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Group of Fifteen (G-15) held on 27 September 2012 in New York, on the margins of the 67th UN General Assembly. India reiterated its offer to replicate within the framework of G-15 cooperation, its projects on solar energy in Senegal and the establishment of a Centre for Entrepreneurship Development in Zimbabwe. India made an annual contribution of US$ 25,000 for 2012.
International Trade Centre (ITC) India participated in all the inter-governmental meetings of the ITC, a subsidiary body of UNCTAD and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The 46th session of the ITC Joint Advisory Group (JAG) was held from 21-22 May 2012, which examined the activities of ITC and also considered the ITC’s Strategic Plan for 2012-2015.
World Health Organization (WHO) India participated in the 65th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in Geneva from 21-26 May 2012. India’s success in polio eradication was widely acknowledged in the WHA. India also participated in the First Informal Consultation with Member States and UN agencies on the development of a Global Mental Health Action Plan (2013-2020) on 2 November 2012 where it was, inter alia, brought out that Yoga, meditation and counseling should be a part of overall strategy for mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders and suicides. International Labour Organization (ILO) India participated in the 101st Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) of ILO held in Geneva from 29 May-12 June 2012. Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister of Labour & Employment led the Indian delegation to the ILC. The Labour Ministers of Bihar, Haryana and Kerala also participated in the Conference. At the ILC, India’s progressive schemes as important social protection measures, for the socio- economic upliftment of the poor and the marginalized, were acknowledged.
India also participated in the 316th Session of the Governing Body (GB) of ILO from 5-15 November 2012 in Geneva. The Indian delegation led by Dr. Mrutyunjay Sarangi, Secretary (Labour & Employment) participated in the Working Party, as one of the 16 members, for Improvement of Functioning of GB and ILC (There are 8 Workers and 8 Employer-Members in the Working Party).
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) The Extraordinary Session of the WMO Congress [Cg.Ext.(2012)-the first-ever such session in the Congress’s 62 year-old history] was held from 29-31 October 2012 to consider the Draft Implementation Plan (DIP) and the Draft Governance Structure based on the Intergovernmental Board (DGS) for establishing the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) as directed by the High-Level Declaration of the World Climate Conference-3 (HLD-WCC-3) in 2009. Both documents were approved in the Congress. Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, led the Indian delegation.
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International Telecommunication Union (ITU) The major activities with regard to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2012 were (i) the World Telecommunication and Information Society (WSIS) Day 2012 celebrated on 16 May 2012 at Geneva. The theme was “Women and Girls in ICT”. (ii) The ITU Council-12, meeting with the Plenary Session held on 4 July 2012 in Geneva. (iii) Briefing sessions of the World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT-12) and the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly-12 (WTSA-12) held in Geneva on 8-9 October 2012. WCIT-12 was held in November 2012 and WTSA-12 will be held in December 2012 in Dubai.
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) The Annual 2012 session of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference (IPC) on the WTO, held in Geneva from 15-16 November 2012. A 3-member Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Shri P.C. Chacko, MP participated in the Annual session of IPC.
The 127th IPU Assembly was held from 21-26 October 2012 at Quebec City, Canada. The delegation was led by Hon’ble Lok Sabha Speaker.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)/International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Societies (IFRC) The First Informal Meeting on “Strengthening Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) was held in Geneva on 13 July 2012. The informal meeting was an ICRC endeavour to accelerate the discussions on review of IHL proposed at the 31st International Conference of RC&RC (2011) through adoption of two resolutions on “Four-Year Action Plan for the implementation of IHL” and “Strengthening Legal Protection for Victims of Armed Conflicts”.
Universal Postal Union (UPU) The 25th Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was held at Doha, Qatar from 24 September-15 October 2012. During the Congress, elections were held for the Director-General of UPU, Deputy Director-General of UPU, Council of Administration (CA) and Postal Operations Council (POC), India was successfully elected to the CA and POC
The year 2012 was busy with important milestones such as India’s second UPR in May 2012, the election of a new Director-General of ILO, the convening of the first- ever Extraordinary Session of the WMO on the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), continued State consultations on the ICRC-led review of humanitarian law, the creation of the Nansen Initiative by UNHCR, the Transformative Agenda of OCHA, the adoption of the Migration Crisis Operational Framework by the IOM Council and the sudden convening of a Diplomatic Conference on Industrial Designs and Geographic Indications by the developed States in WIPO.
Human Rights India continued to play an active role in the Human Rights Council (HRC) with the resumption of its membership in July 2011 with 181 votes out of 193. Besides its three regular sessions (February – March; June-July; and September 2012), a Special Session on Syria was held in June, 2012. India’s second UPR was held on 24 May 2012. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Goolam E. Vahanvati, Attorney-General of India.
India served as a member of the troika for the UPR of Poland and Sri Lanka. Eminent Indians continued to serve with distinction as members of important Treaty- Monitoring Bodies and Human Rights mechanisms including Shri Dilip Lahiri (Member, Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination); Smt. Indira Jaisingh (Member, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women); Shri Chandrashekhar Dasgupta (Member, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). Shri Anand Grover continued his mandate as the Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health; and Shri Kishore Singh as well, as the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) The highest decision-making body of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the IOM Council, held its 101st Session from 27-30 November 2012. The Session was notable for the adoption of a Resolution on the IOM Migration Crisis Operational Framework (IMCOF).
Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) has remained as the largest and most comprehensive global platform for dialogue and cooperation on international migration and development. The Sixth Annual GFMD 2012 Summit Meeting was held on 21-22 November 2012 in Pailles, Mauritius. Shri Dilip Sinha, PR of India to the UN, Geneva led the Indian delegation. India had provided US$ 50,000 as a onetime and first time grant to GFMD on the request of the current Chair, Mauritius to all States.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Page 2 of 4
The 63rd Session of the Executive Committee of the UNHCR (ExCom) was held from 1-5 October 2012. The institutional meetings leading up to the 63rd Session centered on strengthening UNHCR’s efficiency in discharge of its core duties on international protection and collaboration efforts with other UN organizations in humanitarian exigencies.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees visited India on 19-20 December 2012 for the Fourth Annual Open-Ended Bilateral Consultations between India and UNHCR.
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) During the year under review, the Permanent Mission of India participated in all the briefing sessions that Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) organized in Geneva (as per established norms, OCHA policy is negotiated in New York and implemented through the Geneva office). The Mission also drew attention of OCHA to the need for an exit strategy for its new field-based humanitarian intervention mechanism called Transformative Agenda whereby the mechanism is led by an UN humanitarian coordinator
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) India actively participated in the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances held in Beijing, from 20-26 June 2012, which adopted the ‘Treaty for the Protection of Audiovisual Performances’. The Indian delegation led by Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) attended the 50th Series of Meetings of Assemblies of Member States of WIPO in Geneva from 1-9 October 2012. As a member of the Development Agenda Group, India actively worked towards promoting the incorporation of the development agenda recommendations in the works of all the relevant committees of WIPO.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) India continued its active engagement in all UNCTAD meetings of the Trade and Development Board (TDB), Multi-Year and Single-Year expert meetings. The Indian delegation led by Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry participated in the UNCTAD XIII Ministerial Conference held in Doha, from 21-26 April 2012. Mr. Ashok Chawla, Chairperson, Competition Commission of India led the Indian delegation at the Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy from 9-11 July 2012, and Ad-Hoc Expert Meeting on “Consumer Protection: The Interface between Competition and Consumer Policies” from 12-13 July 2012. Mr. T.C.A. Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director of Export-Import Bank of India participated in the Fourth Session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on International Cooperation: South–South Cooperation and Regional Integration as a panelist on ‘Trade finance: challenges and Opportunities’, held in Geneva from 24-25 October 2012.
United Nations Commission on Science, Technology and Development India actively participated in the one-day open meeting, convened by the Chair of CSTD on 18 May 2012, involving all Member States and other stakeholders, to identify a shared understanding about enhanced cooperation on public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, as per the UNGA Resolution A/Res/66/184. The Indian delegation
Page 3 of 4
actively coordinated its position with IBSA countries proposing setting up of a Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation.
Group of Fifteen (G-15) India participated in the 35th Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Group of Fifteen (G-15) held on 27 September 2012 in New York, on the margins of the 67th UN General Assembly. India reiterated its offer to replicate within the framework of G-15 cooperation, its projects on solar energy in Senegal and the establishment of a Centre for Entrepreneurship Development in Zimbabwe. India made an annual contribution of US$ 25,000 for 2012.
International Trade Centre (ITC) India participated in all the inter-governmental meetings of the ITC, a subsidiary body of UNCTAD and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The 46th session of the ITC Joint Advisory Group (JAG) was held from 21-22 May 2012, which examined the activities of ITC and also considered the ITC’s Strategic Plan for 2012-2015.
World Health Organization (WHO) India participated in the 65th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in Geneva from 21-26 May 2012. India’s success in polio eradication was widely acknowledged in the WHA. India also participated in the First Informal Consultation with Member States and UN agencies on the development of a Global Mental Health Action Plan (2013-2020) on 2 November 2012 where it was, inter alia, brought out that Yoga, meditation and counseling should be a part of overall strategy for mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders and suicides. International Labour Organization (ILO) India participated in the 101st Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) of ILO held in Geneva from 29 May-12 June 2012. Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister of Labour & Employment led the Indian delegation to the ILC. The Labour Ministers of Bihar, Haryana and Kerala also participated in the Conference. At the ILC, India’s progressive schemes as important social protection measures, for the socio- economic upliftment of the poor and the marginalized, were acknowledged.
India also participated in the 316th Session of the Governing Body (GB) of ILO from 5-15 November 2012 in Geneva. The Indian delegation led by Dr. Mrutyunjay Sarangi, Secretary (Labour & Employment) participated in the Working Party, as one of the 16 members, for Improvement of Functioning of GB and ILC (There are 8 Workers and 8 Employer-Members in the Working Party).
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) The Extraordinary Session of the WMO Congress [Cg.Ext.(2012)-the first-ever such session in the Congress’s 62 year-old history] was held from 29-31 October 2012 to consider the Draft Implementation Plan (DIP) and the Draft Governance Structure based on the Intergovernmental Board (DGS) for establishing the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) as directed by the High-Level Declaration of the World Climate Conference-3 (HLD-WCC-3) in 2009. Both documents were approved in the Congress. Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, led the Indian delegation.
Page 4 of 4
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) The major activities with regard to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2012 were (i) the World Telecommunication and Information Society (WSIS) Day 2012 celebrated on 16 May 2012 at Geneva. The theme was “Women and Girls in ICT”. (ii) The ITU Council-12, meeting with the Plenary Session held on 4 July 2012 in Geneva. (iii) Briefing sessions of the World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT-12) and the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly-12 (WTSA-12) held in Geneva on 8-9 October 2012. WCIT-12 was held in November 2012 and WTSA-12 will be held in December 2012 in Dubai.
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) The Annual 2012 session of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference (IPC) on the WTO, held in Geneva from 15-16 November 2012. A 3-member Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Shri P.C. Chacko, MP participated in the Annual session of IPC.
The 127th IPU Assembly was held from 21-26 October 2012 at Quebec City, Canada. The delegation was led by Hon’ble Lok Sabha Speaker.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)/International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Societies (IFRC) The First Informal Meeting on “Strengthening Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) was held in Geneva on 13 July 2012. The informal meeting was an ICRC endeavour to accelerate the discussions on review of IHL proposed at the 31st International Conference of RC&RC (2011) through adoption of two resolutions on “Four-Year Action Plan for the implementation of IHL” and “Strengthening Legal Protection for Victims of Armed Conflicts”.
Universal Postal Union (UPU) The 25th Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was held at Doha, Qatar from 24 September-15 October 2012. During the Congress, elections were held for the Director-General of UPU, Deputy Director-General of UPU, Council of Administration (CA) and Postal Operations Council (POC), India was successfully elected to the CA and POC
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