India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Harish Parvathaneni, on Tuesday called for a review of outdated mediation mechanisms under Chapter
VI of the UN Charter during an Arria-formula meeting of the UN Security Council. He also firmly rejected Pakistan's remarks on Jammu and Kashmir, accusing Islamabad of attempting to politicise the forum and reiterating that the issue is India's internal matter. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Harish Parvathaneni, on Tuesday (local time) called for a review of outdated mediation frameworks under Chapter VI of the UN Charter at an Arria-formula meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) (an informal, flexible gathering of UNSC), while also rejecting Pakistan's remarks on the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir highlighting them as an attempt to "politicise" the forum. Addressing the meeting, Parvathaneni said, "These two Chapters are distinct in nature, and their applicability varies." He noted that Chapter VII is intended "to undertake concrete actions when they offer firm pathways to the re-establishment of peace with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression." He added that non-implementation of such measures "could have an immediate aftermath, leading to further deterioration of peace and other serious consequences" and "runs contrary to the purposes and principles that multilateralism and the international law framework endeavour to serve." Explaining India's position on Chapter VI, Parvathaneni said it "offers wide-ranging options to deal with situations whose continuance is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security," including "negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration etc, after taking into account any procedures that may have already been adopted bilaterally by the parties concerned." He stressed that such interventions "are drawn up in order to address the prevailing realities and do not have perpetual validity. They warrant a review in accordance with changing circumstances and contexts." Referring to long-standing issues before the Security Council, Parvathaneni said, "A case in point is the Palestine issue, wherein a defining feature is the constant churn of mediation frameworks in tune with the changing circumstances of the conflict." He added, "There exists an undeniable case for reviewing outdated mediation frameworks. Any assumption of the perpetual applicability of a Chapter VI mediation intervention is erroneous to say the least." The Indian envoy further argued that "at a time when member states are undertaking mandate implementation review under the UN80 framework for all UN General Assembly mandates in order to achieve efficiencies, there is no reason why UN Security Council mandates should be outside the purview of such UN80 frameworks." Responding to remarks made by Pakistan's representative during the meeting, Parvathaneni said, "It is incredible that a co-Chair expected to be balanced and unbiased in conduct has chosen to politicise this forum." Reiterating India's position on Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is a matter strictly internal to India. It always has been, is, and will remain so." In the UN Charter, Chapter VI is titled 'Pacific Settlement of Disputes' and Chapter 7 is titled 'Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression'.
