T.S. Tirumurti, the permanent representative of India to the UN declared that India’s annual resolution on the issue of counter-terrorism was cosponsored by over 75 countries and was adopted by consensus in the First Committee of the UN general Assembly.

India’s permanent representative to the UN asserted over social media that India is at the forefront of the counter-terrorism efforts. He further added in the social media post, “Delighted that the annual resolution tabled by India ‘Measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction’ was co-sponsored by more than 75 countries and adopted by consensus in First Committee of UN General Assembly”. Since India has been a victim of the state-sponsored cross-border terrorism, it has been at the front to curb this menace to foster better chances of international peace. It has also frequently sought international cooperation to prevent the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by terrorist groups.

The resolution on counter-terrorism, co-sponsored by more than 75 countries, was adopted by consensus without a vote. It comes as a clarion call to gear up national measures to address the issue of terrorism at the General Assembly. It also predates the adoption of resolution 1540 by the Security Council, which obliges all states to refrain from supporting by any means non-state actors from developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring, or using nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons and their means of delivery.

Committees of the General Assembly of the UN

There are six Main Committees of the General Assembly. Each of the six committees deals with a particular topic and is allocated agenda items according to the topic. A report is issued to the plenary for each item allocated to a Main Committee. All are committees of the whole body of the UN, with all the UN member states participating in them. They are all entitled to meeting record coverage. From the 1st session (1946) through the 30th session (1975), General Assembly meetings and documents were consecutively numbered. At the 31st session, the symbols began to include the session number.

The First Committee, one of the six Main Committees of the General Assembly deals with agenda items related to disarmament and international security. The Second Committee is allocated agenda items related to economic and financial matters. The Third Committee is allocated agenda items related to social, humanitarian, and cultural matters, including human rights. The Fourth Committee is allocated agenda items related to special political and decolonization matters, including peacekeeping. The Fifth Committee is allocated agenda items related to administrative and budgetary matters. The Sixth Committee is allocated agenda items related to legal matters.

The author is a student of Amity centre of Happiness.