India subjected to relentless proxy wars for decades: Deputy permanent representative to UN
Naidu said that states that have exercised the right of self-defence to attack non-state actors located in other states must be consistent with Article 2(4) and Article 51 of the UN Charter and the relevant San Francisco Conference Report of June 1945
Some states are resorting to proxy war by supporting non-state actors, including terrorist groups, to evade international censure, said Nagaraj Naidu, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of India's Mission to UN on Wednesday.
"Such support to non-state actors has ranged from providing and equipping terrorist groups with training, financing, intelligence and weapons to logistics and recruitment facilitation," said Naidu.
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The deputy representative added that India for decades has been subject to such proxy cross-border and relentless state-supported terrorist attacks from our neighbourhood.
"Whether it is was the 1993 Mumbai bombings, or the random and indiscriminate firings of 26/11 which witnessed the launch of the phenomenon of lone-wolves or more recently, the cowardly attacks in Pathankot and Pulwama, the world has been witness to the fact that India has repeatedly been targeted by such non-state actors with the active complicity of another host state," he said.
Naidu further spoke about Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which requires that states refrain from the use of force.
"The drafting history of Article 51 of the UN Charter and the relevant San Francisco Conference Report of June 1945 that considered Article 2(4) of the UN Charter mentions that 'the use of arms in legitimate self-defence remains admitted and unimpaired'," he said.
In this light, Naidu said that states that have exercised the right of self-defence to attack non-state actors located in other states must be consistent with Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.
"Preemptive actions taken to fight the menace of terrorism, even without the consent of the state hosting the non-state actors, meets this criterion because such actions are not of reprisal since their prime motive is for protecting the affected states' national integrity and sovereignty," he said.
He also separately spoke about Article 51, which he said "explicitly acknowledges the pre-existing customary right of self-defence, as recognized by the International Court of Justice and the UN Security Council".
Naidu said that customary international law has long recognised the principles governing the use of force in self-defence.
"Furthermore, Article 51 is not confined to "self-defence" in response to attacks by states only. The right of self-defence applies also to attacks by non-state actors. In fact, the source of the attack, whether a state or a non-state actor, is irrelevant to the existence of the right of self-defence," he said.
Naidu was speaking at the Arria Formula meeting on the issue of "Upholding the collective security system of the UN Charter: the use of force in international law, non-state actors and legitimate self-defence."
With inputs from agencies.
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