India elected to UN Human Rights Council for 3 years, gets highest number of votes
United Nations: India was elected with the highest number of votes by the General Assembly to the influential Human Rights Council on Friday with a pledge to combat intolerance.
India received 188 votes, the highest polled by any of the 18 countries elected in the voting.
This is the fifth time India is elected to the Geneva-based Council, the main body of the UN charged with promoting and monitoring human rights.
India’s presence on the Council will be important because the previous UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein asked the body to facilitate an international commission of inquiry into allegations of human rights violation in Kashmir.
His successor Michelle Bachelet and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have backed Zeid’s recommendation, which Pakistan -- a member of the Council -- is campaigning for.
So far, no other country has backed Zeid’s call for the investigation.
Bangladesh, which is at the frontlines of dealing with the Rohingya crisis, was also elected with 178 votes to the Council to fill one of the five vacancies for three year terms from the Asia-Pacific region.
The regional group endorsed five countries, which matched the number of seats open for election this year, and they were the only countries on the ballot. The other regional candidates were Bahrain, Fiji and the Philippines.
Thirteen other countries representing the other four regions were also elected to the Council.
In January India will join China and Nepal, besides Pakistan, which were elected to the 47-member Council in previous years to serve three-year terms.
When it nominated itself for the Council, India showcased its position as “the world’s largest democracy (and) India’s secular polity.”
It pledged that it will continue to support international efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
In the nomination pledge, India also presented a broader approach to human rights, emphasising climate justice, health and poverty alleviation.
India was among the first batch of 47 countries elected to the Council in 2006 soon after it was set up and received an initial one-year term instead of three to facilitate a rotating roster of vacancies each year.
It was again elected in 2007, 2011 and 2014 to three-year-terms.
Countries can be elected for only two consecutive terms and India took a year’s break when its term ended in 2017.
Elections were held by secret ballot in the 193-member General Assembly on Friday, although the number of candidates for all the five regions matched the vacancies making it a formality.
On the 47-member Council the seats are allocated based on “equitable regional distribution” giving the Asia-Pacific region a total of 13 seats, with some coming up for election every year.
The African region also has 13 seats, while East European region has six, West European and others seven, and Latin American and Caribbean eight.
The United States withdrew from the Council earlier this year after its Permanent Representative Nikki Haley questioned its legitimacy because of the presence of several dictatorial regimes violating human rights on it.
Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com
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Minister Muniyappa asks hotels to wait for a week to overcome LPG crunch
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa on Wednesday said the state is facing an acute shortage of LPG cylinders for commercial use, with limited supplies forcing the government to prioritise essential sectors while asking hotels and eateries to temporarily switch to alternative arrangements.
He said the crisis has arisen due to supply constraints at the national level, with shipments stuck overseas, and that the state is making efforts to manage distribution until the situation normalises.
“We have very limited supply for restaurants, dhabas, hotels and industries, only about 1,000 cylinders. It has become very difficult to decide who should get how much from these 1,000 cylinders,” Muniyappa said in the Karnataka Legislative Council.
Citing the reason behind the shortage, he said, “The Central government is making efforts and is in constant touch with Iran. Around 16 ships are in queue and are not being released. If they are released, the situation will ease and return to normal.”
The minister said the government has urged commercial establishments to adjust operations.
“I have called a meeting of hotel owners and told them that for a week they must adjust, even if it means using electricity. This is a difficult situation, a war-like scenario, and the hoteliers should manage by using electricity for the time being,” he said.
Muniyappa said the state plans to streamline supplies by pooling available stock over a week.
“We will consolidate these 1,000 cylinders over a week and increase them to around 10,000 to 15,000 cylinders. I will call the association and discuss how to distribute them,” he said, adding that further consultations will be held next week.
Emphasising that domestic consumers remain the top priority, he said household supply will not be disrupted under any circumstances. “Priority is for domestic use. Household supply cannot be stopped at any cost. Every day, about 3,52,921 cylinders are being consumed,” he said, noting that oil marketing companies are continuing daily distribution.
The minister said the main challenge lies in commercial allocation, which has been capped by the Centre.
“The central government has allowed only 20 per cent allocation. The daily requirement for commercial cylinders is 44,000. Arrangements have been made to supply about 9,000 cylinders,” he said.
He detailed the prioritisation plan evolved in consultation with oil companies.
“We are providing 4,200 cylinders to educational institutions, student hostels, hospitals and other essential institutions,” he said.
In addition, about 1,200 cylinders are being supplied to government-run facilities and key public service points.
“For government PHU institutions, canteens located at airports, railway stations and bus stations, as well as Indira canteens, we are supplying about 1,200 cylinders as per their full requirement."
According to Muniyappa, certain sectors critical to the economy are also being supported.
“For seed processing, food processing, agriculture and allied sectors, pharmaceutical industry, fisheries, zoological parks, sports and sports hostels. Around 500 cylinders are being provided,” he said.
Responding to concerns raised by legislators, he said temporary relief measures have been extended during the ongoing Assembly session.
“As long as the Assembly session continues, we will provide about 50 per cent of their requirement. We cannot provide more than that, but considering the urgency, this arrangement has been made,” he added.
