India and Israel were the only nations to vote against a UN draft resolution on conventional arms control, as New Delhi argued that national security concerns cannot be limited by regional or subregional borders.
India and Israel Oppose UN Arms Control Resolution
India and Israel cast opposing votes against a draft resolution concerning conventional arms control at regional and subregional levels, tabled by Pakistan and Belarus at the United Nations, with New Delhi emphasising that national security concerns cannot be restricted by regional borders. The aforementioned draft resolution, titled ‘General and complete disarmament: Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels’, secured approval within the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, recording 180 votes in favour, two against and zero abstentions. Notably, New Delhi and Tel Aviv stood as the only nations opposing the measure within the 193-member international body.
India’s Stance on Global Disarmament
Elucidating the nation’s stance, Anmol Sher Bedi, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, maintained that conventional arms control remains a global matter. “We are not fully convinced that it should be pursued primarily in regional and sub-regional contexts,” Bedi stated while delivering India’s Explanation of Vote at the UNGA First Committee, adding that the action aligned with the country’s consistent historical position.
Criticism of UN Disarmament Commission Requests
Furthermore, New Delhi raised questions regarding the text’s appeal for the UN Disarmament Commission to draft governing principles capable of serving as a structural framework for regional agreements on conventional arms control. “We read this request with a certain degree of curiosity,” Bedi remarked. He highlighted that the Commission had previously established consensus through guidelines and recommendations focused on regional disarmament in 1993, guidelines on conventional arms control and disarmament in 1999, and practical confidence-building measures covering conventional weapons in 2017. “That makes three consensus outcomes on this very subject in the very body now being asked to start from scratch,” he noted. “We fail to understand why a subject already deliberated at length needs another round of deliberation unless the aim is to keep the UN disarmament machinery busy,” he further stated.
Security Concerns Beyond Borders
Bedi also voiced strong objections to the resolution’s approach concerning the maintenance of equilibrium in defence capabilities across a region or subregion. “This assumes that the security concerns of States politely stop at their regional borders. They do not,” he asserted. “Those concerns, as everyone understands for well-known reasons, extend beyond narrowly-defined regions and subregions. More importantly, the notion of preserving balance in a region or a subregion appears unrealistic,” Bedi explained. Conversely, the text posits that conventional arms control requires pursuit chiefly through regional and subregional frameworks, arguing that contemporary post-Cold War threats to international peace predominantly emerge among neighbouring states. It similarly voices aspirations to foster accords directed at bolstering regional security “at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces”.
Separately, India registered a negative vote against a specific paragraph highlighting conventional arms control proposals framed within South Asia. That particular clause noted with “particular interest” various regional initiatives, encompassing talks among Latin American nations alongside “the proposals for conventional arms control made in the context of South Asia”, while acknowledging the broader significance of arms limitation towards regional stability. Additionally, the document asserts that “militarily significant States and States with larger military capabilities have a special responsibility” in facilitating security pacts. (ANI)
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