New Delhi: Amid a diplomatic row which resulted in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions, reduction of diplomatic staff and temporary visa suspensions, India Friday backed a proposed amendment by Canada during the 10th emergency session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Canada’s amendment to a resolution proposed by Jordan regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict called for the explicit condemnation of Hamas for the attacks on Israel that occurred on 7 October.
The amendment also sought a condemnation of the abduction of Israeli civilians taken captive during the attack. It called for the insertion of a paragraph in the resolution stating that the UNGA “unequivocally rejects and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting on 7 October 2023”, while calling for the immediate release of all hostages.
India was among 88 countries which voted in favour of this amendment while 55 voted against, and 23 abstained. However, failing to get two-thirds support, the amendment did not pass. All Arab nations voted against the amendment with Tunisia being the only exception.
New Delhi and Ottawa have been in a diplomatic row since last month, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed authorities were investigating “credible allegations of potential links” between Indian government agents and the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants on 18 June in Surrey, Canada.
India has rejected the allegations as “absurd and motivated”. The two countries have also expelled each other’s diplomats.
Most recently, India Wednesday resumed its visa services in Canada for some categories including entry, business, medical, and conference visas. This comes roughly a month after it temporarily suspended these services due to heightened security threats to its missions and deteriorating ties between Ottawa and New Delhi.
Last week, the Canadian government withdrew 41 diplomats and 42 dependents from India, alleging that New Delhi’s request for diplomatic parity was a “violation of international law and the Vienna Convention”. This came after New Delhi repeatedly sought diplomatic parity with rising tensions between the two countries, giving Ottawa a deadline of 10 October, which was later extended to 20 October.
While Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said India gave “no good reason” for the overnight withdrawal of diplomatic immunity of its staff, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called New Delhi’s response “completely unreasonable and escalatory”, impacting millions of lives.
The US and UK backed Canada’s allegations, with the US noting that it was “concerned by the departure of Canadian diplomats”.
New Delhi rejected these allegations, stating that its actions were “fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention”.
Sources told ThePrint that according to Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, “the receiving state has the right to limit the size of a diplomatic mission to what it considers reasonable and normal”.
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