On Thursday, India abstained from voting on yet another resolution involving Ukraine at the UN Security Council. The motion, which was sponsored by Russia, sought to form a commission to probe Moscow’s claims that the US and Ukraine are conducting “military biological activities” in Ukrainian laboratories in breach of the biological weapons convention.
The resolution failed to get adopted as only two Council members, Russia and China, voted in favour, while the United States, the United Kingdom, and France voted against it, and the remaining Council members, including India, abstained.
Counsellor A. Amarnath of India’s Permanent Mission to the UN stated in his explanation of the vote that India places a high value on the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which is the first non-discriminatory disarmament treaty that prohibits a broad range 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.
Flash: At UNSC, India abstains from Russian resolution that called investigation into alleged bioweapons in Ukraine; Indian Diplomat A Amarnath reaffirms commitment to enhancing effectiveness of Biological Weapons Convention.pic.twitter.com/N1YCje2G2O
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) November 3, 2022
According to the reports, India also reiterated the need to negotiate a comprehensive legally binding protocol that includes an effective, universal, and non-discriminatory verification mechanism to enhance the Convention’s implementation.
“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 stated.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who voted against the resolution, said that the resolution endorsed by Russia was ‘based on disinformation, dishonesty, bad faith, and a total lack of respect for UNSC’. “Russia has failed to provide any credible evidence to support these false allegations. And as you can see from the vote today, no one is buying it except China. I will not devote any more time, energy, or resources to these lies from Russia. Nor should the rest of the Security Council. Not while troops still occupy Ukrainian territory. And not while Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian civilians and commit war crimes. Instead of letting Russia waste our time, we should focus on the truth and the horrors Russia has inflicted upon the Ukrainian people”, she was quoted as saying.
However, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy said that Moscow would continue to act within the BTWC (Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention) framework and make the necessary efforts to establish all the facts related to the violation by the United States and Ukraine of obligations under the BTWC in the context of the activities of biological laboratories on Ukrainian territory. Adding that sooner or later, all perpetrators will have to be accountable for such illegal activities in front of the global community anyway.
Meanwhile, Amarnath noted that India had taken part in discussions on the matter under consideration in Geneva in September and had voiced its views on this issue during previous Council meetings. “I reiterate that any matter relating to the obligations under the BWC should be addressed as per the provisions of the Convention and through consultations and cooperation between the relevant parties,” Amarnath said.
He went on to say that India wants to emphasise the importance of international cooperation in the area of peaceful biological activities and the exchange of scientific and technical data. “India emphasises the full and effective implementation of Article 10 of the Convention and underlines that biological related activities for peaceful purposes that are fully consistent with the Convention’s obligations should not be undermined,” he said.
During a Security Council meeting last week, Russian Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia stated that Moscow would present a draft law calling for the establishment and dispatch of a commission to investigate claims against the US and Ukraine regards to compliance with their commitments under the (BTWC) and activities of biological laboratories on Ukrainian territory.
According to Nebenzia, Russia has long voiced alarm about military biological activities carried out with the most direct support and involvement of the US Department of Defense (DoD) in laboratories in regions of the former Soviet republics away from the North American continent and close to the Russian borders.
