By Arul Louis United Nations, Sep 13 : Abdulla Shahid, the General Assembly of the United Nations’ (UNGA) president who is stepping down has been praised by the Indian diplomat K.Nagaraj Naidu for being a “steady hand in the event of a crisis” when he was his main assistant.
In his final speech to the Assembly on Monday, he called the Indian Foreign Service officer who was the chef de cabinet “a remarkable diplomat and who is a steady hand in crises, dedicated and hard-working”.
In addition, to appointing Naidu as Shahid’s chief assistant and to oversee his diplomatic efforts and manage his office The Indian government also provided $150,000 for general administration, logistical, and management support for Shahid, the Assembly President.
With a tight budget with a limited budget, the Assembly presidents rely on help from member states in order to function efficiently.
Naidu was the deputy representative to India’s UN mission when his services were made available in the year 2000 to the Assembly President.
With Shahid Shahid, who serves as the Maldives Foreign Minister who has completed his term of one year as Assembly President, Naidu will be returning to New Delhi pending his next assignment.
Prior to his appointment to India’s UN mission, he was a joint secretary in the External Affairs Ministry.
A participant of the 1998 IFS batch, he is a China expert, having completed three trips in China as well as an additional one in Hong Kong.
A diplomat stated that for a President who comes from a small nation such as the Maldives with little staff and resources, India sending an experienced diplomat to assist him made a an enormous difference in Shahid’s performance.
The UN was hit by a number of problems during Shahid’s tenure due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the aftermath which led to an energy and food emergency as well as severe economic problems at the same time that the world was coming to terms with the Covid pandemic.
Shahid had to come up with an innovative way to deal with the result of the Security Council rendered powerless by Russian vetoes that raised questions about the legitimacy of the UN and its effectiveness.
To provide a semblance of accountability to the Council to ensure accountability, the Assembly adopted a resolution that required those with veto power to appear before it and explain their decision – and Russia was required to follow through with it.
In the first time in more than 40 years the Assembly also recited the structure of the Uniting for Peace Resolution which empowers the 103-member body take on with the issue of deadlock in the Council in order to resolve with the Ukraine issue.
The Assembly adopted a resolution to condemn the attack, even though it was restricted by the UN Charter from taking any direct action.
In addition to the difficulties adding to the complexity, the Assembly president was required to work in an environment of hybridity due to the emergence of the Covid pandemic, which is a continuous problem that the Assembly was facing.
(Arul Louis may be reached via [email protected] and he can be followed via @arulouis.)
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