India, Israel vote against Pakistan-Belarus resolution on regional arms control at UN; New Delhi explains why

India and Israel have voted against a Pakistan-Belarus-sponsored resolution on conventional arms control at the United Nations, with New Delhi arguing that countries' security concerns extend beyond regional boundaries and cannot be addressed through narrowly defined regional arrangements, as reported by PTI.

The draft resolution, titled ‘General and complete disarmament: Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels’, was adopted by the UN General Assembly's First Committee on Monday, with 180 members voting in favour, two against and none abstaining. India and Israel were the only two countries to oppose the proposal in the 193-member UN body.

Explaining India's position, Anmol Sher Bedi, First Secretary at India's Permanent Mission to the UN, said conventional arms control was a global issue and should not be pursued primarily through regional and subregional frameworks.


New Delhi voted against the draft in line with its established position on the subject, Bedi said while delivering India's explanation of vote before the First Committee.

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India questions fresh UN deliberations on conventional arms control

Bedi also raised objections to a provision asking the UN Disarmament Commission to consider developing principles that could form the basis for regional agreements on conventional arms control.

He pointed out that the Commission had already reached three consensus outcomes on related issues: guidelines and recommendations on regional disarmament in 1993, guidelines on conventional arms control and disarmament in 1999, and recommendations on practical confidence-building measures involving conventional weapons in 2017.

India questioned why the same subject needed to be taken up for further deliberations when it had already been discussed extensively within the UN body. Bedi said the request appeared to overlook the Commission's previous work and questioned whether the exercise would simply keep the UN disarmament machinery occupied.

New Delhi says security concerns extend beyond regional boundaries

India also disagreed with the resolution's emphasis on maintaining a balance in defence capabilities within individual regions or subregions.

Bedi argued that such an approach assumed countries' security concerns were confined to the geographical regions they belonged to, which was not the case. He said these concerns extended beyond narrowly defined regional boundaries and described the idea of preserving a military balance within a particular region or subregion as unrealistic.

The Pakistan-Belarus draft argued that conventional arms control should primarily be pursued at regional and subregional levels because most threats to peace and security in the post-Cold War period arise among countries located within the same region.

It also called for agreements that would strengthen regional peace and security while keeping armaments and military forces at the lowest possible levels. The resolution further stated that militarily significant countries and those with greater military capabilities had a special responsibility to promote such arrangements.

India separately opposes reference to South Asian arms control proposals

Apart from voting against the overall resolution, India also opposed a separate paragraph referring to conventional arms control proposals made in the context of South Asia.

The paragraph expressed particular interest in initiatives undertaken in different regions, including consultations among some Latin American countries and proposals for conventional arms control in South Asia. It also acknowledged the relevance of conventional arms control to regional security.

India's opposition to this provision was in line with its broader objections to treating arms control primarily through regional frameworks, as outlined by Bedi during the explanation of vote.