NEW DELHI: India took a swipe at the partisan nature of those heading and conducting the negotiations at the climate talks when it asked theUN Framework Convention on Climate Changesecretariat to provide "a basic training module" to help them act as "disinterested facilitators rather than as party negotiators". It was a public rebuke to those leading the talks for being partisan and operating more as agents of rich countries rather than as neutral ombudsmen.

By the standards of diplomatic niceties practiced at such jamborees, these were harsh words spoken before the gathering of 195 countries at Bonn at the conclusion of the intermediate talks.

This is not the first time that India or other developing countries have complained about the UN secretariat and those chosen to lead several parallel groups within the negotiations working on a partisan agenda. But this would be the first time India has openly criticised the functioning and used such a reprimanding tone chiding those at the helm. On previous occasions, G77 countrieshave raised concerns about the 'facilitators' pushing their own agenda rather than taking on board views of all countries. The role of the UN secretariat too has been on occasion noted to be partisan though keeping with the way such negotiations go, diplomats and negotiators have preferred to put up counter-manoeuvres rather than raise issues directly.

A well-staffed permanent secretariat headed by the executive secretary is meant to play a neutral facilitator and ombudsman. When talks break into smaller groups, facilitators are also chosen from the negotiators to lead and conduct the talks. But at all times, the talks are required to be driven by countries and facilitators are expected to play the role of a referee.

In this instance, sources at Bonn said, India was miffed at the way the facilitators, working along with the secretariat, were pushing developing country concerns off the table. This in fact led to a logjam at Bonn that lasted almost a week with poor countries demanding that their concerns not be sidelined.

India in fact fought along with other like-minded countries to force its concerns back on the negotiating agenda after the rich countries and facilitators had resisted doing so.

India had written earlier to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat pointing out that despite the decision in Cancun in 2010, some issues close to its heart had been taken off the table. The secretariat had accepted bringing back some but rejected others. At Bonn in the meeting that ended this week, India piled pressure along with other countries to get these concerns back on the discussion list.

If it had not done so, they would have slipped out of the negotiations and any final deal in future. India had asked that no country should put unilateral trade sanctions on the grounds of climate change or put up any protectionist regime in the name of green concerns. It had also demanded that the intellectual property rights regime on green technologies should be loosened just as it is in case of important drugs to allow poorer countries to access them. The US was firmly opposed to such a proposal. But now India has put back on the table the option of using compulsory licensing mechanism to break IPR monopolies.

Reminding the negotiation heads of their duty, India chided them saying, "Negotiations need to be conducted on the basis of submissions made by parties (countries) and these should be the documents carried forward to our future sessions."