Committed to Syrian-led and Syrian-owned UN-facilitated political process: India at UN
United Nations: Expressing concern over the involvement of external actors in Syria, India has said it is committed to advancing a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned UN-facilitated political process to bring long-term security and stability in the conflict-ridden country.
Explaining India's vote on the Adoption of Syria Humanitarian Resolution on Friday, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti said that India firmly believes that long-term security and stability of this region can only be achieved by preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.
"We are deeply concerned with the involvement of external actors in Syria which is making the situation worse.
"We also remain convinced that there can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict and reaffirm our commitment to advancing a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned UN facilitated political process in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254," he said.
Noting that the decade-long violence and terror has caused devastating impact on the lives of Syrians, Tirumurti said that India has been calling for enhanced and effective humanitarian assistance to all Syrians throughout the country without discrimination, politicisation and preconditions.
He said that more than 13 million people across Syria need humanitarian assistance in one form or another.
"Syrian women, children, elderly have severely impacted in disproportionate ways. Today's adoption, therefore, will reassure 3.4 million people in the northwest of Syria," he said.
"We also need to reflect on the humanitarian situation not just in the northwest, but also on the rest of the territory of Syria. Both the UN Secretary General and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have repeatedly spoken about the worsening humanitarian operations on the ground," he said.
Tirumurti said that there is an urgent need for an active engagement between international donor community, humanitarian agencies and financial institutions with Syria, consistent with the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria to address the humanitarian situation and reconstruction needs.
"Concrete steps need to be taken to address the hurdles that are obstructing the functioning of cross line operations as well. We need a realistic basis to move forward," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Primary accused in 96.6 pc POCSO cases were close acquaintances: NCRB
New Delhi (PTI): In 96.6 per cent of 44,126 cases of sexual abuse of minors, close acquaintances have emerged as the primary offenders, according to the latest data released by the NCRB.
In its report 'Crime in India 2024' released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 44,126 total cases have been registered under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act under Sections 4 and 6 which pertain to penetrative sexual assault on minors during the year across the country.
The figures present a grim picture as close acquaintances emerged as primary accused in 42,634 (around 96.6 per cent) of the 44,126 total cases falling in that category, according to the latest NCRB data.
The data shows that family members were involved in 3,658 cases, while family friends, neighbours, employers or other known persons were named in 16,668 cases.
The largest share came from friends, online friends or live-in partners acting on the pretext of marriage, with 22,308 cases.
Cases where the offender was unknown or not identified stood at mere 1,492, or 3.4 per cent of the total.
Among states, Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of POCSO cases at 5,320, followed by Maharashtra at 4,829 and Madhya Pradesh at 3,721. Uttar Pradesh was next with 3,671 cases.
In Union territories, Delhi accounted for the highest number of cases at 1,038, followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 228 and Puducherry at 82. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 77 cases.
The data also shows that Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Tripura and several Union territories, including Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Puducherry, reported 100 per cent of cases involving known offenders.
