India has called for making accountable countries backing cross-border terrorism for narrow political gains and urged the international community to stand united against this scourge and not engage in double standards for political expediency.
Making this assertion in an apparent reference to Pakistan in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), New Delhi also said late Thursday, “The application of rule of law at the international level should protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states from aggression, including terrorism, and including cross border terrorism.” United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatized a generation of children, and accelerated the global food and energy crises. Enunciating her country’s stand on the issue in the UNSC, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj stressed that states that use cross-border terror to serve narrow political purposes must be held accountable.
Speaking at the Security Council's open debate on the Rule of Law held under Japan's current presidency of the Council, she said “this is only feasible when all countries stand together against common threats such as terrorism and do not engage in double standards for political expediency.”
“In our view, a rules-based international order is one that is free from coercion and based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, transparency, and peaceful resolution of disputes,” she said.
Kamboj emphasised that the peaceful settlement of disputes is a key factor to ensure and strengthen the rule of law while conducting international relations.
“Rule of Law necessitates that countries respect each others' sovereignty and territorial integrity, as they would expect their own sovereignty to be respected,” she said. "Since the pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept) is a binding norm of the rule of law, it requires that countries must respect agreements signed with others, bilateral or multilateral, and do not take unilateral measures to undermine or nullify those very arrangements,” Kamboj said.
Guterres said, “In every region of the world, civilians suffer the effects of devastating conflicts, loss of human life, rising poverty and hunger. From the illegal development of nuclear weapons to the illegal use of force, states continue to flout international law with impunity.”
India also stressed that strengthening the rule of law would necessitate reforming international institutions of global governance, including those charged with the responsibility of maintenance of international peace and security.