New York [US], November 14 (ANI): India voted against a United Nations General Assembly draft resolution (A/C.3/81/L.43) calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, asserting that there is no international consensus against capital punishment and that every sovereign state has the right to determine its own legal system and penalties.During the same session at the Third Committee’s 43rd plenary meeting of the 81st UN General Assembly on Friday (local time), India also weighed in on a separate draft resolution (A/C.3/81/L.37) concerning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. While New Delhi supported the adoption of (A/C.3/81/L.37) overall, it formally disassociated itself from a specific paragraph that equated lawful capital punishment with torture and arbitrary killings.Speaking on the extrajudicial executions text (A/C.3/81/L.37), Bhavika Mangalanandan, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer serving as First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, strongly objected to linking judicially mandated capital punishment with unlawful executions.”There is no international consensus against capital punishment, and article six of the ICCPR permits its use with restrictions. Capital punishment is meted out after rigorous and due legal process,” she said.”It is therefore a travesty to term it state-inflicted death,” Mangalanandan added.She further objected to the discussion of capital punishment under a resolution or report concerning extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, calling it “disingenuous and mischievous”.”To discuss this topic under a resolution or a report on extrajudicial and arbitrary execution is therefore disingenuous and mischievous, intended to portray personal ideological preferences as settled international law,” she said.At the outset of her remarks on A/C.3/81/L.37, Mangalanandan emphasised that India opposed extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and backed the broader resolution addressing such human rights violations.”Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions are unlawful and a clear violation of human rights. They deeply affect the families of victims and violate the most fundamental human right, the right to life,” she said.”India therefore supported the adoption of the resolution that calls upon states to eradicate instances of such grave human rights violations,” she added.However, she clarified that India’s objection was specifically directed at Operational Paragraph 6 (OP 6) of (A/C.3/81/L.37), which refers to the report of the Special Rapporteur presented to the Human Rights Council at its 62nd session and calls on states to take into account its recommendations.”We strongly disagree with the assertion conveyed in the report of the Special Rapporteur and thereby through the resolution. The death penalty inherently constitutes torture or ill-treatment,” Mangalanandan said.Explaining India’s legal position, she noted that capital punishment is a statutory provision in the country and is exercised exclusively in the “rarest of rare” cases.”In India, the death penalty is a statutory provision exercised exclusively in the rarest of rare cases; a legal framework guarantees multi-tier procedural safeguards, including the presumption of innocence, mandatory confirmation of death sentences by a higher court and extensive mitigation consideration,” she said.”In view of the above, my delegation is constrained to disassociate from OP six of the resolution,” she added.Meanwhile, India’s vote against the separate biennial draft resolution on a death penalty moratorium (A/C.3/81/L.43) remains consistent with its position in previous sessions, including in 2016, 2018, and 2024.Yaryna Ferencevych, US Deputy Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, said that Washington had maintained its intention to disengage from most Third Committee resolutions, an approach it had also followed this year.”Last year, the United States made clear its intention to disengage from most Third Committee resolutions, and we have taken the same approach this year,” she said.Calling the resolution’s language “problematic”, Ferencevych said it did not advance the United Nations’ core mandate of maintaining international peace and security.”The United States stands for the sovereign rights of nations. It is for this reason that we supported Singapore’s amendment to this resolution on national sovereignty,” she said.She emphasised that the ultimate decision regarding capital punishment must be addressed through the domestic democratic processes of individual sovereign Member States and be consistent with their obligations under international law.”International human rights law establishes clearly that Member States may, within certain established parameters, use this form of punishment as confirmed by Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a party,” she said.Ferencevych added that the US did not consider the lawful use of capital punishment to be inconsistent with respect for human rights.The US also urged countries retaining capital punishment to ensure that it was not imposed in an extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary manner.”Capital defendants must receive a fair trial before a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal established by law, with full fair trial guarantees. Methods of execution designed to inflict undue pain or suffering must be strictly prohibited,” she said.Ferencevych further said, “As a result of these concerns, the US must vote ‘no’ on this resolution.”Meanwhile, France welcomed the adoption of the resolution by a large majority, describing it as an important step towards the universal abolition of the death penalty.In a post on X, the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations said, “France welcomes the adoption by a large majority of the UN resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.”La France salue l’adoption à une large majorité de la résolution🇺🇳 portant sur un moratoire sur l’application de la peine de mort. C’est une étape importante vers une abolition universelle de la peine de mort. La France est résolument engagée à l’atteinte de cet objectif. https://t.co/3rJSV4rVRv— La France à l’ONU 🇫🇷🇺🇳 (@franceonu) November 13, 2026″This is an important step toward the universal abolition of the death penalty. France is firmly committed to achieving this goal,” the mission added. (ANI)(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)