Facebook page ‘Namo India‘ recently posted a graphic that read, “From today onwards the command of the world is in the hands of India. India will take over the Presidency of UNO (UNSC). Several countries including Turkey, Pakistan were furious. India will preside over the United Nations for the first time.”
The page also shared the graphic on two other Facebook groups named Sudhir Chaudhary and Arnab Goswami Official.
The post was created by a page named ‘Vidyarthi Shivam‘. It amassed more than 7,000 likes. The logo on the bottom centre of the post is the display picture of this page.
Fact-check
While India will indeed preside over the UNSC, this is neither unique to the country nor is it for the first time. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to chair an open debate at the UN Security Council.
India first presided over the UN Security Council in 1950. Since then, it has been a non-permanent member of the council for several terms.
According to the official UN website, chairmanship of the Security Council is given to each of the members for a month. India will hold the Security Council Presidency for the month of August. Council members are appointed in alphabetical order. As seen in the image below, India’s membership will end on December 31, 2022. India is a member of the council during the present term (2021-2022).
The UN Security Council consists of 15 members including five permanent members. The remaining 10 members are elected for two years. China, France, Russia, UK and the US are the permanent members. India has been trying to become a permanent member of the council for years, but has been unsuccessful due to a lack of votes. The five permanent members have the ‘right to veto’, meaning that if any of these countries do not agree with any resolution, it cannot be passed. China is the biggest hurdle towards India’s permanent membership in the Security Council.
Overall, the claim on social media about India holding the Presidency of the UN Security Council for the first time is completely false.
This article was originally published on AltNews.