UN 2024: India calls for change at UN as conflict continues

As the United Nations prepares to mark its 80th anniversary next year, India stressed that reform is “key” to the organization’s “relevance” in addressing current and future global challenges, as world leaders sign an ambitious agreement by 2024 to transform global governance. . and drive sustainable action.

When world leaders descended on UN headquarters in September for the 79th high-level session of the General Assembly, they unanimously adopted the historic ‘Pact of the Future’ – a document covering issues ranging from peace and security, sustainable development to climate change. , digital collaboration, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance.

Underscoring the need for reform, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “We don’t need a crystal ball to see that the challenges of the 21st century require more effective, networked and inclusive problem-solving mechanisms. We are fitting a system for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents. We cannot create the future.”

India has been at the forefront of efforts over the years to call for reform of the Security Council, including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories, saying that the 15-nation council established in 1945 is not fit for purpose in the 21st century. Centuries and does not reflect the contemporary geopolitical reality.

Delhi insists that it is entitled to a permanent seat at the horse-shoe table.

A polarized Security Council has failed to address current peace and security challenges, with council members sharply divided over conflicts such as the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war.

Mr. Guterres noted that many of today’s pressing issues were not envisioned 80 years ago when the multilateral framework of the United Nations was created.

India’s message to the international community is that reform of global institutions is essential for global peace and development.

“Reform is the key to relevance … global action must match global ambition,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the United Nations Future Summit, where the agreement was adopted.

Mr. Modi’s clarion call for change from the UNGA lecture comes amid ongoing global conflicts, including the Ukraine war entering its third year, the Israel-Hamas war, and growing global threats such as terrorism, the climate crisis, economic inequality, and attacks on women’s rights. .

Amidst these global challenges, India has consistently advocated dialogue and diplomacy to reach solutions and resolve conflicts. As Mr Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of a future summit before concluding his three-day US visit, he reiterated India’s willingness to play a constructive role in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict. Dialogue and Diplomacy.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Mishri emphasized Modi’s commitment to move forward and contribute to the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Modi-Zelensky meeting is the third in a few months. Mr Modi met the Ukrainian leader in Kiev in August, weeks after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July. In June, Mr Modi held a bilateral meeting with Mr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.

Mr. Modi held bilateral talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expressing concern over the Gaza crisis and advocating a two-state solution for lasting peace in the region.

Modi also met Iranian President Masoud Pezhekian on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. Mr. Modi stressed the need for dialogue and diplomacy to ease tensions in the volatile region. Terrorism poses a significant threat to peace and security in the world in 2024.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s address to the General Assembly in September marked a stronger stance, outspokenly condemning Pakistan’s “policy of cross-border terrorism” for the first time in six years from a UNGA lecture in a national statement at a high-level general debate.

He claimed that terrorism was the antithesis of everything the world stood for. “When this polity spreads such fanaticism among its people, its GDP can only be measured in terms of its exports in the form of radicalism and terrorism,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

“Pakistan’s policy of cross-border terrorism will never succeed. And it cannot expect impunity. On the contrary, actions will definitely have consequences. The only issue to be resolved between us is the vacating of the Indian territory which is now illegally occupied by Pakistan. And of course to abandon Pakistan’s long-standing attachment to terrorism,” he said.

His statement echoed a 2018 address by the late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who criticized Pakistan’s continued glorification of terrorism.

“Pakistan’s commitment to terrorism as an instrument of official policy has not diminished in the slightest… Pakistan praises killers; it refuses to see the blood of the innocent,” Swaraj said during Pakistan’s powerful removal from the UN General Assembly podium.

The UN’s ability to maintain peace and security remains under scrutiny as its Security Council grapples with polarization and fails to maintain international peace and security.

Pakistan, an “all-weather ally” in China, is set to sit at the horseshoe table of the Security Council for a two-year term as a non-permanent member elected from January 1, 2025.

It is no surprise that Pakistan has used its UNSC tenure to raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and propose discussions in a multilateral forum on the bilateral issue, despite its past failure to garner support from the wider UN membership.

Commemorating the genesis of the United Nations 80 years ago at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC, Jaishankar in his UNGA address stressed the need to reform multilateralism to address today’s twin crises of peace and prosperity.

“The debates of that era centered around ensuring world peace, a prerequisite for global prosperity. Today, we find that both peace and prosperity are in crisis,’ he said.

“We see this clearly in every challenge and every crisis. That’s why improving multilateralism is imperative,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

India’s strong call for change has resonated globally as the United Nations approaches its 80th year, striving to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving world.

The world body also faces uncertainty with the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency in 2025.

Known for his criticism of the UN, Mr Trump’s first term in 2017-2021 saw the US withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Human Rights Council and several UN agencies, including UNESCO, and cut funding to the UN Population Fund. Agency for Reproductive Health of the Organization.

After Mr. Trump’s election victory, Mr. Guterres reaffirmed the importance of US-UN cooperation, expressing his readiness to engage constructively with the incoming administration.

During his first term, Mr Trump described the United Nations as hampered by “bureaucracy and mismanagement” and called for reforms to advance its mission. The United States remains the largest contributor to the United Nations, contributing 22 percent of the regular budget.

All eyes will be on how relations between the United Nations and the incoming Mr. Trump administration will improve, given past criticism of the world body.

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