Amidst focus on WHO, India appoints new envoy to UN bodies in Geneva

Indra Mani Pandey has been appointed as the next Indian envoy to UN bodies and other international organisations in Geneva. A sensitive post, he will represent India in more than 25 important organisation of the United Nations in Geneva including World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

He will have an important task at hand, given the calls are growing for reforms at the WHO due to its failure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. India was appointed as the chair of the executive committed of the WHO this year at the world health assembly.

New Delhi was among the more than 60 countries that backed a resolution calling for finding the source of coronavirus.

He will also represent India at International Labour Organisation, Universal Postal Union, one of the oldest international bodies that even predates UN, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), World Intellectual Property Organisation, International Parliamentary Union and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Pandey is an Arabic speaker and has served in Egyp and Syria in his early career. A 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, he was later first Secretary in Islamabad and Kabul and also in Geneva at the Mission to Conference on Disarmament. He has also severed as India's consul general in Guangzhou, Deputy chief of mission in Paris and Ambassador to Muscat. His last posting was as Additional Secretary in the Disarmament & International Security Affairs (D & ISA) Division.

The previous envoy to these UN bodies in Geneva was Rajiv K Chander who has completed his 3-year team. Under his leadership, India was able to successfully thwart Pakistani attempt to rake Kashmir issue at Human Rights Council after the abrogation of Article 370 that removed special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had himself reached the UNHRC, calling for a special session, something that did not get much of a support.