India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to address UNSC today

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate and address the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) today in an open debate on "Implementation of Resolution 2532 (2020)."

Jaishankar will speak regarding resolution 2532 (2020), which was adopted by the Security Council on July 1, 2020.

Resolution 2532 had stressed the concern about the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, especially in countries ravaged by armed conflicts, or in post-conflict situations, or affected by humanitarian crises.

What is Resolution 2532: Key Details

• Resolution 2532 emphasised on the demand for a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations on its agenda and supports the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General and his Special Representatives and Special Envoys in that respect.

• The eight-point action plan affirms that the general and immediate cessation of hostilities and humanitarian pause does not apply to military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh), Al Qaeda, and Al Nusra Front (ANF) and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with Al Qaeda or ISIL, and other terrorist groups, which have been designated by the Security Council.

• The resolution recognises that the conditions of violence and instability in conflict situations can exacerbate the pandemic and that inversely the pandemic can exacerbate the adverse humanitarian impact of conflict situations.

• It also calls upon all parties to armed conflicts to take a durable humanitarian pause for at least 90 consecutive days, in order to enable safe, unhindered and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance, provisions of related services by impartial humanitarian actors.

• The resolution requests the UN Secretary-General to help ensure that all relevant parts of the UN system, including UN Country Teams, accelerate their response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a particular emphasis on countries in need, including those in situations of armed conflict or affected by humanitarian crises.

• It further requests the UN Secretary-General to provide updates to the UN Security Council on the UN efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic in countries in situations of armed conflict or affected by humanitarian crises, as well as on the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of peace-keeping operations and Special Political Missions to deliver their mandated priority tasks.

• The resolution also requests the Secretary-General to instruct peace-keeping operations to provide support to host country authorities to contain the pandemic, in particular, to facilitate humanitarian access, including to internally displaced persons and refugee camps and allow for medical evacuations.

• It also requests the Secretary-General and the Member States to take all appropriate steps to protect the safety, security, and health of all UN personnel in UN peace operations, while maintaining the continuity of operations and to take further steps towards the provision of training for peacekeeping personnel on issues related to preventing the spread of COVID-19.

• The resolution acknowledges the critical role played by women in COVID-19 response efforts, as well as the disproportionately negative impact of the pandemic, on women and girls, children, refugees, internally displaced persons, older persons and persons with disabilities.

• It calls for concrete actions to minimize this impact and ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and youth in the development and implementation of an adequate and sustainable response to the pandemic.

Source: ANI