India warns against politicising UNSC terror listings

India has cautioned that UN Security Council membership must not be misused to legitimise terrorists or blacklist entities on political grounds, urging transparency and objectivity in sanctions regimes and reforms in the Council’s working methods.

United Nations:  Membership of the UN Security Council must not be used as a tool to “legitimise” terrorists by seeking their removal from the sanctions regime or to blacklist entities solely on “political considerations”, India has said, asserting that the powerful 15-nation body must not become a platform for pursuing narrow interests.

Addressing a Security Council open debate on working methods on Wednesday, Chargé d’Affaires at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Ambassador Yojna Patel flagged the need for greater transparency and objectivity in the listing and de-listing of terrorists and terror entities under the Council’s sanctions regimes.

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“Security Council membership brings significant responsibilities. This must not become a platform to pursue narrow political interests,” she said.

“Listing and de-listing are a case in point. There must be more transparency and objectivity on this front. Presence in the Security Council must not be instrumentalised to legitimise terrorists by attempting to de-list them or to list other entities as terrorist organisations based solely on political considerations, without any objective criteria or supporting documentation,” Patel said.

India has consistently called out the opaque manner in which decisions are made under the UNSC sanctions committees on proposals to designate terrorists and terror organisations.

New Delhi has also called for greater transparency in the working of the Council’s subsidiary bodies, pointing out that while decisions on listings are made public, details relating to the rejection of proposals or their placement under technical hold remain the “exclusive preserve” of a select few.

India has in the past described such practices as a “disguised veto” and raised concerns over the functioning of the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee in particular.

New Delhi has said evidence-based proposals to designate internationally sanctioned terrorists should not be blocked without adequate explanation, arguing that such practices undermine the Council’s stated commitment to combating terrorism.

India has previously faced such hurdles in its attempts to designate Pakistan-based terrorists, with China, a permanent member of the Security Council, having placed holds or blocked some of the proposals.

India also voiced concern over the delay in finalising chairs of the Security Council’s subsidiary bodies, including the 1267 Al-Qaida and Taliban sanctions committees.

Eight months into 2026, the Council is yet to finalise the chairs and vice-chairs of its subsidiary bodies, prompting India to call for urgent action.

“Subsidiary bodies serve important functions and enable better implementation of Security Council mandates. However, these bodies have not been able to deliver optimally in the recent past, primarily due to the delay in finalising the Chairs,” Patel said.

She called for the issue to be addressed on priority and for a “definitive and non-negotiable” timeline to be established for finalising the chairs of subsidiary bodies.

Denmark, which holds the Security Council presidency for August, said in a stakeout at the UN headquarters that the “unprecedented delay” in appointing chairs of the UNSC subsidiary bodies “undermines the Council’s effectiveness, credibility and institutional integrity”.

Council members called for flexibility and political will to resolve this impasse, Denmark noted.

India also called for “greater transparency” for the Council’s elected non-permanent members in several ongoing processes of the Security Council.

“For instance, elected members, and by implication, the General Assembly, must have a greater say in crucial aspects such as election of the UN Secretary-General,” Patel said.

The UN Secretary-General is appointed by the 193-member General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, where China, France, Russia, the UK and the US are permanent members with veto powers.

Patel emphasised that the need for reforming the Security Council is more pronounced and pressing than ever before.

“Our joint endeavour must be on appropriately equipping the UNSC to address contemporary and future challenges. The world of 1945 has changed beyond recognition.

“UN membership has grown four-fold since then. The outcome of one conflict 80 years ago cannot determine the composition, dynamics, approaches and working methods for perpetuity. This needs to change and must happen at the earliest,” she said.