Pakistan rakes-up Kashmir-issue at UN Committee on Information; India objects
Pakistan's delegate Masood Anwar has raked up the issue of alleged human rights violation in Kashmir at the UN's Committee on Information to which India raised a strong objection, saying it was irrelevant to the work of the panel. He said the UN's Department of Public Information (DPI) can play an important role in defusing tensions and promoting interfaith harmony. Here are more details.
Today's world is marred with conflict and strife
"The world we live today is marred with conflict and strife while we maintain unity in fighting terrorism and extremism. Countering the narrative of this twisted ideologies is imperative," Anwar said during a General Debate on Committee on Information. He urged DPI to highlight situations where "grave violations of human rights are taking place," especially against the Rohingyas, Kashmiris, and Palestinians.
India strongly rejected Anwar's reference to Kashmir
India strongly rejected Anwar's reference to Kashmir, saying his remarks are irrelevant to the work of the Committee. "We have seen another attempt here today to make reference to issues extraneous to agenda of the Committee. We completely reject these remarks as they have no relevance to work of the Committee," S Srinivas Prasad, Minister in Indian Mission to UN said.
India supports the DPI's work on counter-terrorism
In his statement, Srinivas Prasad said India supports the DPI's work on counter-terrorism. India is opposed to all forms of terrorism and believes that effective cooperation among countries is necessary to combat the threat, he said.
Prasad voiced concerns over declining financial resources
Prasad, however, voiced concern over declining financial resources that have presented a serious constraint on the ability of DPI to carry out its mandated tasks especially in non-official languages. DPI needs to look at innovative ways to raise resources beyond the regular budgetary allocations, including through voluntary contributions to continue and expand its global outreach activities, especially in the widely-spoken non-official languages, he said.
DPI needs to make more documentaries related to surviving terrorism
Prasad referred to the production of the documentary "Surviving Terrorism: Victim's voices" on the survivors of the 2011 Norway terror attack, saying civilians affected by terrorism is an "untold story" and hoped that the DPI will pick up more such stories from terrorist violence-affected countries.
Prasad appreciated expansion of languages in UN's guided tours
Prasad voiced appreciation for expansion in the number of languages in which the UN guided tours are offered. He also pointed out that UN's guided tours have been very popular with Indian tourists, urging the addition of a guided tour in Hindi to facilitate Indian tourists. Prasad also noted that the Department facilitated the on-location filming of Bollywood film "Padman" at UN headquarters.
