U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends the 14th ASEAN-U.N. Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

India was a notable exclusion from a letter signed by 104 countries, including European and African countries, as well as much of the Global South that “condemned” Israel for banning United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres from entering Israeli territory.

While India has broken with the Global South on a number of resolutions that are critical of Israel, abstaining in at least four such major resolutions on Palestinian issues, the decision not to sign the letter circulated by Chile, and supported by Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, Uganda, Indonesia, Spain, Guyana and Mexico is particularly significant given it is seen as a defence of the U.N. Secretary General and the UN itself, not any of the parties in the conflict.

Most neighbouring countries in South Asia, as well as West Asia, South America and Africa — making up the developing world — signed the letter that was circulated at the U.N. last week.

The letter said that the 105 signatories, including 104 member-states and the African Union, expressed “deep concern with and condemnation” of Israel’s decision to declare the Secretary General persona non grata. “Such actions undermine the United Nations’ ability to carry out its mandate, which includes mediating conflicts and providing humanitarian support,” the letter said.

Israel’s order, declaring Mr. Guterres persona non grata (PNG) on October 2, had been issued by its Foreign Minister Israel Katz who accused the U.N. Secretary General of not criticising Iranian missile strikes on Israel a day before that, “unequivocally”, although Mr. Guterres had issued statements on Iran’s actions both before and after the ban. Mr. Katz said that Mr. Guterres did “not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil” as a consequence.

“As member states of the United Nations, we call for respect for the UN’s leadership and its mission,” the letter that was released by the Chilean Foreign Ministry said. “We reaffirm our full support and confidence in the Secretary General and his work,” it added. The letter follows a similar show of support for the U.N. Secretary General after the 15-nation U.N. Security Council issued a statement last week that said “any decision not to engage with the U.N. Secretary General or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East”.

The Chilean letter was endorsed by at least 10 of the U.N. Security Council members, including France, Russia, China, Slovenia and Switzerland although the U.S., U.K., Japan and South Korea did not sign it.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not respond to requests for comments on why India did not sign on to the letter. On October 4, the MEA spokesperson had said that for India, Mr. Guterres is the U.N. Secretary General, and “what somebody else says about it, what a third person says is not our area of outlook or a matter to comment on”, without commenting on the ban itself.