India built a state-of-the-art energy-efficient hospital in Mauritius, which was opened by Indian PM Modi and PM of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth last year on October 3rd is being used to deal with the COVID crisis, Indian envoy to the country has told WION. Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, India's High Commissioner to Mauritius Tanmaya Lal while talking about the COVID situation in the country lauded the "leadership of the country is taking commendable steps on various fronts to contain the pandemic" and thanked them for "testing and other procedures required" of several Indian workers after one Indian worker was confirmed COVID positive case.

WION exclusive conversation with Indian Envoy to Mauritius Tanmaya Lal

India has expressed regret that the work of the Human Rights Council is getting more contentious and difficult, as it voiced concern over instances of politicisation of human rights as a foreign policy tool.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tanmaya Lal mentioned that though the Human Rights Council continues to expand with growing number of resolutions and decisions, greater frequency of meetings and special sessions, the effectiveness of its work is, however, not always clear.

"While a very comprehensive normative framework of human rights treaties and Covenants has evolved, the work of the Human Rights Council and its associated procedures and mandates is, regrettably, getting more contentious and difficult," Lal said at the UN General Assembly session on Report of the Human Rights Council Friday.

He said more broadly, the global situation today is a troubled one, with growing concerns about the multiple challenges posed to the spirit of multilateralism due to ineffectiveness of the global governance mechanisms to find commonly acceptable solutions.

"The reasons for many of the difficulties surrounding the discussions on the human rights agenda are not hard to find. They flow from the often very divergent priorities and concerns of member states in terms of their levels of development, social and cultural contexts and governance systems," he said.

Lal noted that while the global discourse on human rights continues to evolve, fundamental contradictions remain. The relative prioritisation of the individual versus State, national sovereignty versus international norms and universal versus culture-specific approach, all evoke differing opinions.

"Constraints on national capacities to implement certain rights, instances of politicisation of human rights as a foreign policy tool, and perceived intrusiveness beyond mandated activities remain areas of concern," he said.

He further said while the work of the Human Rights Council continues to expand with growing number of resolutions and decisions, greater frequency of meetings and special sessions, the effectiveness of its work is, however, not always clear.&nbsp;

"There is also a proliferation of special procedures both on thematic and country-specific situations. Their effectiveness is also constrained by lack of, and opacity of funding, lack of a balanced representation in staffing, mistrust on some of them clearly exceeding their mandates and politicising their approach. Country-specific procedures have largely been counter-productive," he said.

"Instances of such mechanisms and offices operating on their own without any mandate and producing clearly biased documents only further harm the credibility of United Nations??," Lal said.

In June this year, India had rejected then Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein's report on Kashmir in which he had called for an independent international probe into the human rights situation in Kashmir.&nbsp;

Lal had said then that the "so-called" report reflects the "clear bias of an official who was acting without any mandate whatsoever and relied on unverified sources of information."&nbsp;

Lal had said the report "was not even found fit to be considered by the membership of the forum where it was submitted."

At the Friday session, Lal pointed out that the palette of human rights ranges from individual to collective on one hand, and from civil and political, to economic and social and cultural rights to the right to development on the other.&nbsp;

"Agreement on not only the prioritisation and the interpretation of various rights but on the best way to promote and protect human rights, including in situations of possible gross and systematic violations, often remains elusive, especially if it clashes with the idea of sovereignty of nation states," he said.

Describing terrorism as one of the worst forms of violation of human rights, Lal said India has had to face repeated terrorist attacks on innocent people, emanating from beyond its borders, thinly veiled reference to Pakistan.&nbsp;

He said despite terrorism being acknowledged as one of the foremost global challenges, any meaningful collective response to address this menace continues to be thwarted by some.

He stressed that the human rights agenda must be pursued in a fair and equal manner with objectivity, respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, non-selectivity and transparency.

"For the success of our collective and common cause or promoting and protecting human rights, our emphasis at the Human Rights Council and Treaty bodies, and Special Procedures and the OHCHR ?should not be confrontational but instead focus on achieving the desired results from a more inclusive, participatory and positive approach through dialogue and capacity building," he said.

India has expressed regret that the work of the Human Rights Council is getting more contentious and difficult, as it voiced concern over instances of politicisation of human rights as a foreign policy tool.

India has expressed regret that the work of the Human Rights Council is getting more contentious and difficult, as it voiced concern over instances of politicisation of human rights as a foreign policy tool. India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tanmaya Lal mentioned that though the Human Rights Council continues to expand with growing number of resolutions and decisions, greater frequency of meetings and special sessions, the effectiveness of its work is, however, not always clear. "While a very comprehensive normative framework of human rights treaties and Covenants has evolved, the work of the Human Rights Council and its associated procedures and mandates is, regrettably, getting more contentious and difficult," Lal said at the UN General Assembly session on Report of the Human Rights Council Friday. He said more broadly, the global situation today is a troubled one, with growing concerns about the multiple challenges posed to the spirit of multilateralism due to ineffectiveness of the global governance mechanisms to find commonly acceptable solutions. "The reasons for many of the difficulties surrounding the discussions on the human rights agenda are not hard to find. They flow from the often very divergent priorities and concerns of member states in terms of their levels of development, social and cultural contexts and governance systems," he said. Lal noted that while the global discourse on human rights continues to evolve, fundamental contradictions remain. The relative prioritisation of the individual versus State, national sovereignty versus international norms and universal versus culture-specific approach, all evoke differing opinions. "Constraints on national capacities to implement certain rights, instances of politicisation of human rights as a foreign policy tool, and perceived intrusiveness beyond mandated activities remain areas of concern," he said. He further said while the work of the Human Rights Council continues to expand with growing number of resolutions and decisions, greater frequency of meetings and special sessions, the effectiveness of its work is, however, not always clear. "There is also a proliferation of special procedures both on thematic and country-specific situations. Their effectiveness is also constrained by lack of, and opacity of funding, lack of a balanced representation in staffing, mistrust on some of them clearly exceeding their mandates and politicising their approach. Country-specific procedures have largely been counter-productive," he said. "Instances of such mechanisms and offices operating on their own without any mandate and producing clearly biased documents only further harm the credibility of United Nations??," Lal said. In June this year, India had rejected then Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein's report on Kashmir in which he had called for an independent international probe into the human rights situation in Kashmir. Lal had said then that the "so-called" report reflects the "clear bias of an official who was acting without any mandate whatsoever and relied on unverified sources of information." Lal had said the report "was not even found fit to be considered by the membership of the forum where it was submitted." At the Friday session, Lal pointed out that the palette of human rights ranges from individual to collective on one hand, and from civil and political, to economic and social and cultural rights to the right to development on the other. "Agreement on not only the prioritisation and the interpretation of various rights but on the best way to promote and protect human rights, including in situations of possible gross and systematic violations, often remains elusive, especially if it clashes with the idea of sovereignty of nation states," he said. Describing terrorism as one of the worst forms of violation of human rights, Lal said India has had to face repeated terrorist attacks on innocent people, emanating from beyond its borders, thinly veiled reference to Pakistan. He said despite terrorism being acknowledged as one of the foremost global challenges, any meaningful collective response to address this menace continues to be thwarted by some. He stressed that the human rights agenda must be pursued in a fair and equal manner with objectivity, respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, non-selectivity and transparency. "For the success of our collective and common cause or promoting and protecting human rights, our emphasis at the Human Rights Council and Treaty bodies, and Special Procedures and the OHCHR ?should not be confrontational but instead focus on achieving the desired results from a more inclusive, participatory and positive approach through dialogue and capacity building," he said.

India expresses concern over politicisation of human rights as foreign policy tool

Expressing concern over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, India in an apparent reference to Pakistan has said the support for terror groups like Taliban, the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) must be forced to stop.

Terrorists continue to attack the most vulnerable, including the sick in hospitals, children in schools, devotees in mosques and even mourners at funerals. Terror groups have gained territory, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to UN, Tanmaya Lal said during an open debate of the Security Council on Afghanistan.

&quot;The support for terrorist organisations like the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Daesh, Al Qaeda and its designated affiliates such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e- Mohammed from outside Afghanistan, must be forced to stop,&quot; Lal said.

&quot;All safe havens and sanctuaries available to such groups outside Afghan borders must end. Security Council has an important responsibility in this regard in our collective interest,&quot; Lal said.

The continued resilience shown by the Afghan people and security personnel has been exemplary but hopes of a better future still appear distant, he said.

&quot;Our regular consultations and the work done by the Council have not been enough to more effectively reverse the situation on the ground,&quot; he added.

Lal said it has been painfully clear since long that the security situation in Afghanistan has implications not only for the region but the entire world.

&quot;While new threats emerge from the Daesh, the Security Council cannot even decide whether to designate the new leaders of Taliban or to freeze the assets of the slain leader of the group more than a year after the issue was brought to its attention,&quot; Lal said.

In his address to the Security Council, Afghan Ambassador to the UN Mahmoud Saikal said Afghanistan&#39;s patience on indiscriminate shelling from across the border by Pakistan should not be tested.

&quot;Under the pretext of receiving fire from our side, Pakistan&#39;s violations across the Durand Line, including indiscriminate artillery shelling, has continued unabated throughout 2017, resulting in the loss of innocent lives and destruction of villages,&quot; he said.

The proposal of Afghanistan for engagement and operational coordination towards addressing these concerns has not seen any response, he told the UN Security Council.

&quot;At the same time, Afghanistan has the will and the capacity to defend its territory and our patience should not be tested,&quot; Saikal said.

Afghanistan believes that confidence building measures can only be successful when violations of this nature come to a complete halt, he said.

&quot;In a similar vein, we are also in communication on the imperative of addressing terrorists&#39; regional safe havens and hope to see positive developments on this front soon,&quot; he said, adding that Afghanistan looks forward to the upcoming trilateral meeting in Beijing next week between the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan and China.

Terror groups have gained territory, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to UN, Tanmaya Lal said during an open debate of the Security Council on Afghanistan.

Expressing concern over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, India in an apparent reference to Pakistan has said the support for terror groups like Taliban, the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) must be forced to stop. Terrorists continue to attack the most vulnerable, including the sick in hospitals, children in schools, devotees in mosques and even mourners at funerals. Terror groups have gained territory, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to UN, Tanmaya Lal said during an open debate of the Security Council on Afghanistan. "The support for terrorist organisations like the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Daesh, Al Qaeda and its designated affiliates such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e- Mohammed from outside Afghanistan, must be forced to stop," Lal said. "All safe havens and sanctuaries available to such groups outside Afghan borders must end. Security Council has an important responsibility in this regard in our collective interest," Lal said. The continued resilience shown by the Afghan people and security personnel has been exemplary but hopes of a better future still appear distant, he said. "Our regular consultations and the work done by the Council have not been enough to more effectively reverse the situation on the ground," he added. Lal said it has been painfully clear since long that the security situation in Afghanistan has implications not only for the region but the entire world. "While new threats emerge from the Daesh, the Security Council cannot even decide whether to designate the new leaders of Taliban or to freeze the assets of the slain leader of the group more than a year after the issue was brought to its attention," Lal said. In his address to the Security Council, Afghan Ambassador to the UN Mahmoud Saikal said Afghanistan's patience on indiscriminate shelling from across the border by Pakistan should not be tested. "Under the pretext of receiving fire from our side, Pakistan's violations across the Durand Line, including indiscriminate artillery shelling, has continued unabated throughout 2017, resulting in the loss of innocent lives and destruction of villages," he said. The proposal of Afghanistan for engagement and operational coordination towards addressing these concerns has not seen any response, he told the UN Security Council. "At the same time, Afghanistan has the will and the capacity to defend its territory and our patience should not be tested," Saikal said. Afghanistan believes that confidence building measures can only be successful when violations of this nature come to a complete halt, he said. "In a similar vein, we are also in communication on the imperative of addressing terrorists' regional safe havens and hope to see positive developments on this front soon," he said, adding that Afghanistan looks forward to the upcoming trilateral meeting in Beijing next week between the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan and China.

Support for terror outfits must be forced to stop: India at UN

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WION exclusive conversation with Indian Envoy to Mauritius Tanmaya Lal

India expresses concern over politicisation of human rights as foreign policy tool

Support for terror outfits must be forced to stop: India at UN