UNSC: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to inaugurate a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the United Nations on December 14

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will inaugurate a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the United Nations on 14 December. It will mark the Mahatma's arrival at the UN headquarters during India's presidency of the powerful 15-nation Security Council.

India on Thursday assumed the monthly rotating presidency of the Security Council, the second time since August 2021 that India is chairing the council during its two-year term as an elected UNSC member. The statue of Mahatma Gandhi will be placed on the "iconic" North Lawn of the United Nations Building, marking the first time that a statue of the Mahatma will be installed here at UNHQ.

The simple ceremony will be in the presence of UNSC members, including the incoming five new council members - Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland.

The statue, created by renowned Indian sculptor Padma Shri awardee Ram Sutar, who also designed the 'Statue of Unity, will be a gift from India and will be installed at the UN Headquarters, which proudly houses gifts and artifacts from around the world. displays the

For December, India's 2021-2022 term in the Council is coming to an end. Kamboja, India's first woman Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, will sit in the presidential seat.

Addressing reporters here on the monthly program of the Indian presidency and work, Kamboj said Jaishankar's chairmanship of the Council on December 14 and 15 will coincide with two signature programs on reformed multilateralism and counter-terrorism, The program will also be under the chairmanship of India. Kamboj said that the first would mark the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi at the United Nations.

Five new council members will replace India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and Norway for two-year terms from January 1, 2023. Apart from China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates are non-permanent members of the Security Council.

UNHQ is home to a section of the Berlin Wall donated by Germany, inspired by the Soviet sculpture 'Let us beat swords in ploughshare', a bronze bust of Nelson Mandela donated by South Africa, as well as the 'Guernica' tapestry.

The only other gift from India for display at the UN Headquarters is an 11th-century black stone statue of 'Surya', donated on July 26, 1982. Displayed in the Conference Hall, was presented as a gift to the United Nations by the then Prime Minister Late Indira Gandhi. The then Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuellar accepted the statue on behalf of the United Nations.

In an exclusive interview before India took over as UNSC President, Kamboj had told PTI that Gandhi's legacy of non-violence and peace is enduring and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that this is not an era of war, it talks about heritage and the world has been widely accepted by

The second side event will mark the launch of the 'Group of Friends for Accountability of Crimes Against UN Peacekeepers', Kamboj said, adding that a more robust peacekeeping system in the Security Council has been one of our priorities.

He said that following Resolution 2589, which focused on the protection of peacekeepers, the group of friends will shed light on a fundamental issue, if I may say existential, to the work of peacekeepers. As 2023 marks the beginning of the 'Year of Millets', India will also be promoting and highlighting millets during this month.

The year 2023 has been designated as the 'International Year of Millets', for which a proposal was brought by the Government of India and approved by the members of the FAO Governing Body.

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