India elected to four key subsidiary bodies of UN ECOSOC

UNITED NATIONS: India has been elected to four key subsidiary bodies of the United Nations' agency on economic and social issues, continuing its impressive record of winning elections at the world body.

India was elected by acclamation, a form of election that does not use a ballot, to the subsidiary bodies of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) during its coordination and management meeting yesterday.

With the election wins, India maintained its 100 per cent record of winning elections held in the UN Headquarters here.

It was elected, along with 13 other nations, to the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund ( UNICEF) for a three-year term beginning January 2016.

UNICEF addresses the needs of children with emphasis on giving long-term benefits to children everywhere, particularly those in developing countries.

India was also re-elected to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme for the 2016-2018 term along with five other nations. WFP is the food assistance arm of the UN which provides food assistance to around 90 million people in 80 countries in a year.

It was among the 20 nations to be elected to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) for a three-year term, beginning January 2016. Apart from India, other nations elected to CCPCJ include Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Austria, France, Sweden and the United States.

The CCPCJ provides policy guidance to UN Member States on crime prevention and criminal justice and develop, monitor and review implementation of the UN crime prevention programme.

India also got re-elected to the Governing Council of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for the term 2016-2019. UN-Habitat is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.

The Council elected a total of 14 members for a four-year term, beginning January 2016 for UN-Habitat.

In October last year, India has overwhelmingly won its re-election to ECOSOC, garnering the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group. The win for India had come just a week after it was re-elected to the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council for the period of 2015-17.

The continuous wins by India at various UN bodies is seen as a testimony to its role as an important and influential global power by a vast majority of the UN membership, sources said.