UNO - Current Affairs for October, 2016

• Gill is an IFS officer of 1992 batch
• Gill’s diplomatic career includes assignments in Sri Lanka, Iran, Switzerland and Permanent Mission of India to the UN
• His professional areas of interest focus on international relations, disarmament, regional security in South and Southeast as well as Southwest Asia and human security issues
• In 2007-2008, he represented India on the UN Secretary General’s Panel on Missiles
• He was also a member of the Indian delegation to the Conference on Disarmament during the negotiations of the CTBT
• Before joining the Indian Foreign Services, Gill has also worked as a telecom engineer.

Israel in Oct 2016 suspended cooperation with UN cultural agency UNESCO, accusing it of denying Judaism’s connections to the region and religion’s holiest sites

• The Israel National Commission of UNESCO has suspended all professional activities with international organisations
• This comes after the UNESCO approved a draft resolution using only the Islamic name for a hilltop complex, the holiest site in Judaism
• Draft was passed by 24 in favour, 6 against and 26 abstentions
• Hilltop complex is called Temple Mount in Jewish and Haram al-Sharif in Islam
• Resolution sponsored by several Arab countries refers to occupied Palestine and safeguard Palestinian cultural heritage and the distinctive character of east Jerusalem.
• East Jerusalem, with sites holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, was captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war.