Armed intervention should be used as last resort: India

Armed intervention should be a "measure of last resort" in any conflict-plagued nation, India has said, stressing that the responsibility to protect should primarily focus on political engagement with all parties and should not be pursued with an objective of regime change.

Addressing an informal dialogue of the UN General Assembly on the Secretary General's report on the 'Responsibility to Protect (R2P)', India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said the "implementation of R2P requires an effective discharge of responsibility and obligations by States under the UN Charter in a balanced and impartial manner.

This requires reform of the Security Council so that it takes into account the "contemporary realities".

He said R2P should start with an early political engagement with the parties concerned, with sufficient time being given to see that the non-coercive measures employed are bringing desired results.

Puri said only when an "honest and serious" attempt at pacific settlement fails should the international

community, acting under the United Nations, respond with coercive measures that are calibrated and gradual.

"Armed intervention should be a measure of last resort when everything else has failed. Selectivity must be avoided at all cost and the principle must be applied uniformly to all parties to a conflict," he said.

He added that in any conflict situation, whenever the use of "all necessary means" is authorised, there must be provisions in the resolution for monitoring and reporting mechanisms so that the principles of neutrality, impartiality and proportionality is ensured.

He said the principle of responsibility while protecting (RwP) is equally important and if R2P is to regain the respect of the international community, it has to be anchored in the concept of RwP.

Underlining the three key pillars of R2P, Puri said the principle cannot be used to address all social evils, including violations of human rights and humanitarian law but instead it should be confined to the four identified crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.

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