India briefs envoys of 13 Security Council members

Context

• India’s strikes on Pakistan were not an escalation, but a “response” to the Pahalgam terror attack, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told envoys of 13 of 15 countries in the United Nations Security Council.

• Pakistan’s envoy was not invited to the briefing held at South Block hours after India’s action, but included China’s envoy Xu Feihong. Sierra Leone was not present at the meeting as it does not have an envoy here.

• In New York, the Indian Permanent Mission is reaching out to the UNSC members, government sources said.

• According to sources, the Foreign Secretary was asked a number of questions about the operations in the early hours of Wednesday, from the envoys of countries such as China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. and non-permanent members Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Slovenia and Somalia.

Status

• The Security Council was established by the UN Charter in 1945. It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.

• The other 5 organs of the United Nations are—the General Assembly (UNGA), the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.

• Its primary responsibility is to work to maintain international peace and security.

• The council is headquartered at New York.

Members:

• The council has 15 members: the five permanent members and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

• The five permanent members are the United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom.

• India, for the eighth time, had entered the UNSC as a non-permanent member in 2021

• Each year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of ten in total) for a two-year term. The ten non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis.

• The council's presidency rotates every month among its 15 members.