Terrorist groups in our neighbourhood, rebranding themselves as humanitarian organizations to evade sanctions: India at UNSC

India on Monday, February 7, 2022, said UNSC designated terrorist groups operating from the neighboring soil are rebranding themselves as humanitarian organizations making a mockery of sanction regimes.

Addressing a UNSC Open debate on ‘General issues relating to Sanctions: Preventing their humanitarian and unintended consequences’, India’s Permanent Ambassador to UN, T.S. Tirumurti underlined that terrorist groups taking full advantage of humanitarian carve-outs, making a mockery of sanction regimes, including 1267 Sanctions.

Further, Ambassador Tirumurti said, “there are several cases of terrorist groups in our neighborhood, rebranding themselves as humanitarian organizations to evade sanctions.”

“Under the garb of the humanitarian cover provided by such exemptions, these terrorist groups continue to expand their terror activities in the region and beyond,” Ambassador Tirumurti added.

It is pertinent to note during its current non-permanent membership at UNSC, India is chairing the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, the Libya Sanctions Committee as well as the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

During the debate, Ambassador Tirumurti further emphasized that the sanction regimes have played a major role in the fight against terrorism but it should not further exacerbate the suffering of the populations at the receiving end.

“As such, it is necessary to keep these regimes under constant review so that they keep pace with the changing situation on the ground. The sanction measures should be neutral in nature and should not become political instruments of the few powerful,” Ambassador Tirumurti said.

Responding swiftly to the problems of the people under sanction regimes, Ambassador Tirumurti stressed that ‘sanctions should always be used as an instrument of last resort after having exhausted all other options’. He further pointed out that efforts should be made to reduce the negative impact of sanctions on the populations of the receiving State.

In the same, earlier during the UNSC session, India has voted to support a resolution to grant exemption from sanctions for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. In a statement, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti underscored that access to humanitarian assistance should be without hindrance.