India abstains on Russia-sponsored draft resolution at UNSC for probe on Ukraine's alleged bio weapons

United Nations India has abstained on yet another resolution involving Ukraine, this time a motion s

India has abstained on yet another resolution involving Ukraine, this time a motion sponsored by Russia at the UNSC that sought to establish a commission to investigate claims by Moscow that the U.S. and Ukraine are carrying out “military biological activities” in laboratories in Ukraine in violation of the biological weapons convention.

The resolution failed to get adopted on November 3 as only two Council members — Russia and China — voted in its favour, while the U.S., the U.K. and France voted against it and the other Council members, including India, abstained.

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In the explanation of the vote, Counsellor A. Amarnath from India’s Permanent Mission to the U.N. said India attaches high importance to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which is the first non-discriminatory disarmament treaty banning a complete category of weapons of mass destruction.

“We remain committed to enhancing the effectiveness of the BWC and strengthening its implementation in letter and spirit,” he said.

Mr. Amarnath said that India also reiterates the need to negotiate a comprehensive legally binding protocol providing for an effective, universal and non-discriminatory verification mechanism to strengthen the implementation of the Convention.

“This is necessary to strengthen the BWC and its implementation by the State Parties and we hope the current situation will provide an impetus for early consideration, negotiation and finalization of such a protocol by the State Parties. Factoring in all these aspects, India has decided to abstain from the resolution,” he said.