[UNSC] Delegation of USA Displays Unusual Behaviour at UNSC Conference while Discussing Kashmir Conflict

Written by Breitbart

The US delegate has decided not to take part in discussions on the Kashmir conflict, after unfavourable discussions emerged. 

On the 20th and 21st of August, a 2-day United Nations Security Council Conference was held, where countries all over the world came together to discuss on solutions to raging Kashmir conflict at the borders of India and Pakistan. The discussions have been extensive so far, with many topics being brought up such as human rights of soldiers and cross-border tensions, and a resolution has also been proposed. 

Yet, the delegation of US has been unusually inactive in these discussions. In fact, they have not even spoken much at all. 

In the past, under the Trump administration, former President Donald Trump has openly acknowledged that Kashmir has been ravaged by violence and descended into chaos. He has also actively engaged in talks with the Prime Minister of Narendra Modi regarding the issue, and has always expressed his willingness in assisting in the conflict and to act as a mediator or arbitrator. As he aptly put it, “If I can help, I would love to be a mediator … it’s impossible to believe two incredible countries that are very, very smart, with very smart leadership, can’t solve a problem like that.  But if you want me to mediate or arbitrate, I would be willing to do that.” 

After the turnover of power to the Biden administration, things seem to have gone slightly downhill. The Biden campaign has remained highly vocal and has constantly aimed to place pressure on the Indian government to take all necessary steps to restore rights for all the people of Kashmir. To make matters worse, Biden has also criticized the controversial National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Act, laws which saw widespread nationwide protests and violence between December 2019 and March 2020. Such vocal condemnation may not bode well for any US administration, as this could lead to a strain in relations with India, which would prove highly detrimental for the US. 

This same headstrong attitude of the Biden administration is seen to be reflected in the delegation of the US that is taking part in the United Nations Security Council conference on the Kashmir conflict. In initial discussions, the delegate of the US expressed their interest in working with other countries to encourage bilateral talks between India and Pakistan, supporting the delegate of Russia in their suggestion on allowing the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan(UNMOGIP) to act as a mediator for communication between two nations. The delegate of the US also supported the idea of 

However, this stance quickly changed upon hearing India’s stern disagreement to acknowledge the UNMOGIP and refusing to allow third-parties or other countries to involve in their conflict with Pakistan. Although the US has been known to support India, this, in itself, was a blow to the US’ stance on pushing for bilateral talks between India and Pakistan and was a rude rejection to their insistent offers of assistance in the matter. 

Furthermore, as discussions on third-party interference progressed and countries like Russia and China became more persistent in efforts to involve the UNSC more deeply in the conflict, the US delegate resorted to trying to divert focus to topics such as investigating human rights violations and sanctioning terrorists, to avoid having to discuss on the actual issue of allowing third parties to interfere. Yet, sooner or later, the delegate of US realised that there was no way they could convince the delegations of other countries of not involving third parties in the conflict. 

This realisation obviously must have upset the delegation of the US. In fact, it must have affected them very severely, to the point they decided to leave just halfway through the first day of the conference. To make things worse, the delegation of USA did not even show up for the second day of the conference, explaining why they had little to no say in the resolution that is currently being drafted by the UNSC. The actions of this delegate clearly shows how stubborn and crude the US government has become under the Biden administration. 

Some theorists believe this could have been a strategic move by the Biden administration. By refusing to take part in the conference, the US delegation is able to maintain its strong relations with India by not expressing their thoughts on the involvement of UNSC in the Kashmir conflict. Yet, this is an extremely desperate last-ditch effort that gives other countries an impression of childish immaturity with regards to the US. 

We can only hope that our country’s multilateral relations, built meticulously by our former President Donald Trump, are not just going to go down the drain because of Joe Biden. 

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