YouSaid · the spoken record

Jaswant Singh

lines on the record: 57
first: 1999-09-24
most recent: 2000-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Advancement of the democratic spirit and overcoming challenges to it, growth with equity, economic development with social justice and, as the prize that we seek, the creation of a world where injustice and deprivation give way to fulfilment and welfare for all are among the goals that we should set for ourselves at the dawn of this new century. The challenge is nothing less than collective enlightened global ownership. The General Assembly once again faces a heavy and challenging agenda on this long road before us. Let us wish ourselves success in our endeavours.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The special session of the United Nations General 20 Assembly on the review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21 in 2002 should concentrate on finding solutions in addressing such unfulfilled commitments and providing reality and operational content to the declaration that “eradication of poverty is the over-riding priority of developing countries”. Children and issues relating to them are a priority. We hope that the special session of the General Assembly next year will concentrate on the implementation of the Declaration of the World Summit on Children.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Another challenge relates to reconciling the needs of economic and industrial growth with the need for preservation and protection of the environment. A safe and healthy environment for our peoples is an imperative. At the same time, all development cannot be sacrificed at the absolutist altar of environmental preservation. Sustainability of growth strategy and environmental conservation cannot and should not imply maintenance of poverty. Developing countries have done commendable work in the implementation of Agenda 21, in the context of an exceptionally difficult global environment. The promised resources from developed countries have failed to materialize. The transfer of technologies on preferential and concessional terms has not been forthcoming. Indeed, impediments are placed on technology transfer even on commercial terms.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Many challenges lie ahead of us. Impediments to sustained economic growth for developing countries abound. Protectionist tendencies in developed countries, a lack of political will to implement commitments undertaken regarding development finance and tardy alleviation of the debt burden of developing countries aggravate the situation. Special and differential treatment for developing countries guaranteed under World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions must be translated into operational reality. Developed countries should not seek to restrict market access to goods and services and free movement of natural persons, especially at a time when developing countries are being asked to open up their economies and compete in the international economic domain.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“While GDP growth rates and selective indicators may point to growth in an economy, the elimination of poverty and enhancement of the quality of life and creation of real choices must be integral to the process of assessing the success of development efforts. In India, we have formulated development strategies on the premise that economic and social policies must subserve the primacy of the human being, and in particular the poorest. Market forces and growth alone are not the answer. Intervention to guarantee social justice is crucial. Development based on uneven rewards will not be supported by those who are not its beneficiaries. It places great stress on the social fabric. The fullest possible participation of the people in the development process is the best guarantee for the success of any growth strategy.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The process of globalization, with revolutionary leaps in communications and the great advance in information technology and increased mobility of capital, trade and technology, has produced new potential for sustained economic growth. The benefits of globalization have, however, not percolated to the vast sections who live mired in poverty, without shelter, in hunger and in deprivation. Globalization has often been accompanied by enhanced poverty, unemployment and consequent social disintegration. This poses a major challenge. We have to determine an inclusive concept of growth and development. We have to strive for the uplifting of people in the largest sense, and not simply in terms of sectoral advances.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We therefore hope that the forthcoming conference on financing for development would endorse concrete initiatives for mobilization of the required external resources for development, whether from trade or concessional flows, and treat this as a shared global goal. In this context, it would be useful to establish the difference that would be made if there was universal adherence to the agreed official development assistance(ODA) target of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Product(GNP), within a specified time frame. Nowhere is this more important than in the continent of Africa. Africa's efforts need to be adequately supported by the international community. We believe that issues relating to the development of African countries must remain at the forefront of the work of the General Assembly.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We welcome and support the declaration of the Secretary- General last week to the United Nations Development Programme's ministerial meeting that deficit in development will put in jeopardy all other goals of the United Nations. To address the root causes of poverty meaningfully, we need firm international commitments to re-order and reshape international relations, in consequence providing for equitable opportunities to developing countries for resource earnings. Our call is even more relevant in today's fast integrating world. Developing countries and their people cannot thrive on a diet of advice and goodwill alone.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“This conflict and the Taliban's mediaeval obscurantist ideologies continue to cause untold suffering to the Afghan people. This adversely affects the peace and security of the entire neighbourhood, from West to Central Asia to South Asia. The negatives that emanate from the Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan, in the shape of terrorism, drug trafficking and the flow of arms, cause justifiable concern all over the world. The Taliban and their mentor must heed the world's demands and abandon the path of conflict. We stand for a comprehensive settlement in Afghanistan that 19 restores peace at the earliest and ensures the interests and aspirations of all sections of that society. We have consistently called upon the United Nations to increase its development orientation and engagement, which is a core responsibility.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We appreciate the action taken by the Commonwealth after the overthrow of the constitutionally elected democratic Government there. We hope that Fiji will return immediately to the constitutional base of 1997 and restore the rule by law at the earliest opportunity by putting an end to racial discrimination. This is in Fiji's own long-term interest. We hope that the international community will exercise its collective authority and influence to bring Fiji back to the road of democracy and the rule of law. It appears, sadly, that the world has forgotten Afghanistan. The fratricidal conflict in that country continues on account of the Taliban's pursuit of the mirage of military success. It also continues because of outside support, military and financial, to the Taliban.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Even as we week to strengthen democratic principles and practices in the United Nations, and even as the spreading sweep of democracy casts aside dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, we have unfortunately witnessed some instances of regression as well. Such acts move against the currents of our times. The international community should oppose these assaults on the spirit of our times and uncompromisingly support and strengthen democratic impulses, practices and norms. It should show its solidarity with the people of such countries. The Organization of African Unity and the Commonwealth deserve our commendation for the steps they have taken in this regard. Developments in Fiji since 19 May this year have caused us deep concern.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“It is here that all States, irrespective of considerations of strength, economy or size, sit together as equals, embodying the democratic principle of sovereign equality. There is a growing feeling among Member States that the functioning and role of the General Assembly has to be made more effective. As the revolutions of the digital age reduce distance to the click of a mouse, bringing us together into a new global neighbourhood as never before in history, and as forces of globalization inexorably lead us to increasing interdependence, our canvas of international cooperation and collective action has rapidly expanded. It has also become vastly more complex. The General Assembly has therefore to be central in accepting this new responsibility, this new challenge.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We have a global consensus that the form taken by the Security Council in the aftermath of the Second World War is outmoded and that it must reflect the logic of an enlarged membership. At the Millennium Summit more than 150 States, at the highest level, endorsed the need for a Council reformed in its representation. An unrepresentative Security Council will lack the range and depth of sensitivity, perceptiveness and understanding of the realities that it will have to deal with or the moral authority to take decisions. I reaffirm India's willingness to take on the responsibilities of permanent membership. The General Assembly is the most important organ of the United Nations.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Let me now dwell briefly on the instrument of our choice to accomplish our global agenda: the United Nations. There is but one United Nations; none replicate it, nor can any replace it. The membership of the United Nations has increased manifold in the last half century, and today stands at 189. Yet the Security Council continues to have the same basic structure as in the colonized world of 1945. The need for expansion of the membership of the Security Council in both permanent and non- permanent categories is self-evident. The impact of actions of the Security Council is felt, with near total exclusivity, by the developing countries. Yet they have little influence in its decision-making.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Terrorism is an assault on human decency, a violation of the basic precepts of democracy and the very antithesis of what the United Nations represents and stands for. Because its principal 18 targets are the innocent, it is indeed the most flagrant violation of basic human rights. It constitutes a crime against humanity. It is also a threat to international peace and security, especially when terrorists are armed, financed and backed by Governments or their agencies. I urge all Members to work to strengthen the international consensus and legal regimes against terrorism. We have proposed the draft of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. I urge all Members of the United Nations to give their total support to this initiative.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The international community can no longer afford to permit these purveyors of death, outrage and destruction to continue to inflict untold suffering upon innocents. We look forward to a successful outcome of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, to be held next year. Terrorism is the global menace of our age. For some, it tends to replace ideology and policy. India has been the object of State-sponsored, cross-border terrorism in its most inhuman manifestations for more than a decade. Even as the international community works together to curb, control and stamp out the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, we need to continually focus our attention on the users of such weapons — the terrorists.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“India volunteered to observe, and continues to observe, a moratorium on further explosive nuclear testing. This meets the basic obligations of the CTBT. India also remains ready to engage in meaningful negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament, including on a global treaty to ban the future production of fissile material for weapons purposes. The illicit transfer, manufacture and circulation of small arms, particularly by States to non-State actors and to terrorist groups, and their intrinsic linkage with terrorism and narco-trafficking are matters of very deep concern to the world community. When they are combined with religious fanaticism and military adventurism, a threat is posed to the global civilized norms to which we strive to adhere.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“India remains ready to participate in agreed and irreversible steps, such as de-alerting of nuclear forces, thus lowering nuclear danger, through accidental use or otherwise, as well as a global agreement on no-first-use and on non- use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States. The situation with regard to the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the lack of progress on a programme of work at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva show the importance of building a consensus, both within and amongst nations, on issues that affect national and international security. We are conscious that 155 countries are at present signatories of the CTBT. We reiterate to them our continuing commitment that India does not wish to stand in the way of entry into force of the CTBT.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The historic summit between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, too, augurs well for peace in the Korean peninsula. Disarmament — global nuclear disarmament in particular — is essential to engender a greater sense of security among Member States. India has been and will continue to be in the forefront of efforts towards global nuclear disarmament and genuine non-proliferation. We welcome the recommendation of the Secretary- General in his report to the Millennium Summit to convene an international conference on eliminating nuclear danger. We urge commencement of negotiations on a nuclear-weapons convention to bring about a nuclear-weapon-free world.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We must act as confident nation States committed to collective action and international cooperation, for these are our means to provide wider effects of peace and progress. We must reaffirm the principle of respect for State sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of countries. Thus, self-evidently, we must abjure unilateral action. Whenever circumstances warrant action by the Security Council, that action must be firmly rooted in Charter provisions. The Brahimi Panel's report contains a number of proposals. We recommend that the General Assembly examine this important report carefully and take appropriate decisions to strengthen this vital United Nations function of peacekeeping. We support the Middle East peace process and find the trend encouraging.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We must strengthen it and ensure that it is equal to our collective expectations and our joint aspirations. Peace, collective security and development inspire the spirit of the United Nations. We enter the twenty-first century with extraordinary collective intellectual and technical capabilities. These are our global tools for overcoming the challenges before us. Peace and security for all is not just possible but is well within our grasp. Stability and development are the essential building blocks for the maintenance of peace and security. Threats to peace can and do arise from different sources. It is not just weapons of mass destruction or an arms race that endanger peace, but also dehumanizing poverty and lack of development.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“I am delighted on this occasion to warmly welcome Tuvalu as the newest Member of the United Nations. Just 10 days ago, almost 150 heads of State and Government assembled here for the Millennium Summit. Their assembly in such large numbers was as unique as was the occasion itself. The Millennium Declaration that was then adopted encapsulates a shared vision that the international community work together in constructive cooperation to meet collective challenges, within the framework of the United Nations. It was in this spirit that my Prime Minister spoke, as did many others, of the need for the United Nations to truly reflect the world of the twenty-first century, to make it an effective instrument to translate 17 our vision into reality. The United Nations is the house that we all share.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“India congratulates Mr. Harri Holkeri on his election as President of the first General Assembly of this millennium. We are encouraged that he intends to take the Millennium Declaration as the mandate for the work of the Organization during his presidency. I take this opportunity to sincerely compliment and to place on record our high appreciation of Foreign Minister Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia for his guidance of the General Assembly in the past year, which included three special sessions and, of course, meticulous preparations for and a successful conclusion to the Millennium Summit. I join India's voice to those of other delegations in noting with appreciation the dedication with which Secretary-General Kofi Annan has served the United Nations at a critical point.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Let your aim be common, your assembly common, United your mind and thoughts; May you make your resolutions with one mind, Perform your duties righteously. Let our hearts be together”.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Therefore, may I urge the Assembly to consider the following areas for action in the opening years of the next decade: an international conference on financing for development; binding, irreversible steps to reduce the dangers of use of nuclear weapons; reform and expansion of the Security Council; a comprehensive convention against terrorism; and strengthening of the United Nations development system in this era of globalization. I leave you with a sloka from the Rigveda. Though written 5,000 years ago, it reaches across time to us as at this session of the General Assembly, in the last year of the twentieth century. In translation, it reads, “Be of one heart, one mind and free of hate.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is convenient to look at security issues in the First Committee, at economic issues in the Second, at human rights and social issues in the Third, and so on, but we often do not see them together, and so fail to use the United Nations as we should. May I, in conclusion, therefore, propose that in the next decade the United Nations endeavour to address the most urgent problems that face us today. We have to do this as a unity of nations, as also of issues, for it is evident that solutions in one field will depend on, or be 43 facilitated by, progress in another. Without tackling them together we will fail to address them at all.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“I trust that the current session of the General Assembly will put in place a preparatory process for the “Rio + 10” review. This will enable the Member States to take stock of the implementation of the commitments undertaken by the Member States in Agenda 21 over the past decade. Such a process is vital for attaining our common goal of sustainable and environmentally sound development. This century has shown us that our challenges are common; they are intertwined. Problems flow across boundaries, they batten on each other. Political, security, economic and social challenges are braided around each other; when they form a knot, that has to be cut by all of us together. Here, and nowhere else, can we do this.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“So, at the end of this centennial audit, what is it that we would want the United Nations to do in the first few years? It is clear that there are two major problems facing the United Nations as an institution: Security Council reform and the United Nations financial crisis. These need to be addressed. The Security Council must be made more representative, with developing countries inducted as permanent members, to reflect the changes in the United Nations membership and today’s political realities. As we said earlier, on any objective criteria, India’s credentials for permanent membership are persuasive. Sustainable and environmentally sound development is a goal to which India continues to attach the utmost importance. In 2002 we will complete a decade of Agenda 21, adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“We remain ready to bring these discussions to a successful conclusion. Naturally, this requires the creation of a positive environment as we work towards creating the widest possible consensus domestically. We also expect that other countries will adhere to this Treaty without any conditions. Notwithstanding India’s readiness to engage in constructive negotiations on a treaty to prohibit the future production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices, the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva has so far, sadly, been unable to register any forward movement. This, too, is something to ponder over, for we all know that a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT) can only contribute to our shared objective as part of a step-by-step process. Let us then overcome this reluctance and agree to look beyond the FMCT.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“In fact, every single study that has been published since the end of the cold war on the measures to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world has highlighted the need for shifting to doctrines based on no-first-use and non-use, and technical measures towards de-alerting, as the inevitable first steps in the process. We have taken initiatives to urge the international community forward on both counts, and hope that in this General Assembly session the Indian initiatives will receive the unanimous support that they merit. Last year my Prime Minister declared in this Assembly that India was engaged in discussions on a range of issues, including the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). These discussions are in process and will be resumed by the newly- elected Government of my country. Our position remains consistent.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“India is the only nuclear- weapon State ready to negotiate a nuclear weapons convention that will prohibit for ever the development, production, stockpiling, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons and provide for the elimination of all existing weapons under international verification. If this can only be a step-by-step process, the first step at a technical level is for all countries possessing nuclear weapons to take measures that will reduce the dangers of, and provide added safeguards against, any unintended or accidental use. Coupled with this is the political step of reorienting nuclear doctrines, towards no-first-use, and then non-use, thus delegitimizing nuclear weapons globally. Independent expert opinion across the globe has spoken strongly in favour of such measures.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“To maintain global peace and security, 42 to deal with threats of a global nature, the international community has to accept the concept of collective security. The United Nations provides a framework for such a contract among nations. With the cold war behind us, the General Assembly should reactivate this framework. Global nuclear disarmament was the objective set out by the 1946 General Assembly in the first resolution that it adopted. That objective still beckons us. I say this as the representative of a country that has been obliged to acquire nuclear weapons because of the failure of the existing non-proliferation regime to address our primary security concerns. Yet let me also state with full conviction that India’s commitment to global nuclear disarmament stands undiluted.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“In a spirit of engagement, we would urge our partners in the West to be a bit more tolerant, and a bit more introspective. While all democratic Governments try to promote good governance, human rights and social responsibility, the perspective they approach them from, and their ability to implement them, vary. Rigidly applying, as a universal paradigm, value systems that reflect the state of western economies and societies in the late twentieth century, produces an inevitable reaction, which does not make either for dialogue or constructive decisions. Globalization has also influenced our thinking on security issues by generating a greater awareness about new security concerns. Equally important, with the end of the cold war there is a growing realization that peace cannot be maintained through balance of power or hegemonic order.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“But we remain unshaken in our vision of cooperation and shared prosperity of the South Asian region, as embedded in the Charter of SAARC, as well as in our faith in the ability, talent and will of the people of the region to take their rightful place in the world community. The destiny of all our peoples is linked. It is a region with a collective history reaching back to the beginnings of human history and of the highest civilizational accomplishments. In striving to attain the promise of the future in our region, we also see the recovery of a great past. This is perhaps the right juncture at which to say a few words about pluralism in an age of globalization. Though we find sterile the debate over universal and regional values, extreme positions are still taken on both sides.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Yet the path of the India-Pakistan composite dialogue process is open. No preconditions attend it. The only essential ingredient that remains is an abjuring of violence and cross-border terrorism, principles that are integral to both the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration — indeed, the very process of peace itself. This process needs to be resumed. We have been greatly disappointed by this compulsive hostility of Pakistan, because it is an aberration in our region today, where all the other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are at peace with each other, and are trying, bilaterally and through the SAARC mechanisms, to tackle together the great challenge of development.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“From the earliest days of our struggle against imperialism and colonial rule it has been an unquestionable article of faith with us that India is one nation: a nation of many faiths, a diversity of beliefs, a cultural harmony arranged through the interplay of myriad forms and manifestations, but a unity, strengthened by its pluralism, that is beyond question. And of this is born India’s democratic vitality, too. Also of this oneness and unity, the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part, and shall remain so. Because this is not any territorial dispute; it is the assertion of two antipodal approaches to national identity. India has never represented denominational nationhood; it is civic nationalism to which we subscribe. That is why Jammu and Kashmir is not a so-called core issue. It is at the very core of Indian nationhood.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“There is an aspect that I stress. It was a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions when Indian soldiers taken prisoner were tortured, subjected to inhuman treatment and killed in captivity. These violations took place at a time when the international community has repeatedly been trying to establish the rule of law, stripping away the layers of impunity that have protected those who give the orders that lead to violations of international humanitarian law. And it is thus that I find it necessary to reiterate some essential verities of Indian nationhood.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Not simply was the Lahore Declaration violated, but so was the Simla Agreement, which had prevented conflict for more than a quarter of a century. In self-defence, yet with the utmost restraint, India took all necessary and appropriate steps to evict the aggressor forces from its territory. Most regrettably, this aggression has set back the Lahore process of peace that we had initiated. For whereas aggression over territory can more easily be vacated, that territory of trust which has been transgressed is infinitely more difficult to restore. Permit me, Sir, to draw attention to the fact that this aggression upon India in Kargil was a demonstration of wanting to hold to ransom the world, through an act of aggression. It was also a manifestation of the larger disorders that the world has been witnessing in Afghanistan.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Earlier this year India was subjected, yet again, to an act of premeditated aggression. In February this year, hoping yet again to set aside the sterility of relations of 41 the past half century to set the South Asian subcontinent on the path of development, with a view to addressing the real adversaries of our region — poverty, want and hunger — Prime Minister Vajpayee extended a hand of peace, amity and cooperation to neighbouring Pakistan. The pathbreaking bus journey from Delhi to Lahore followed. In Lahore we concluded a triad of agreements, among which was the Lahore Declaration. It was the route chart of moving towards lasting amity and peace. This act of faith was betrayed. Premeditated aggression by regular forces was committed against India.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“That is why we urge this Assembly to be seized of the enormous human suffering of the Afghans, and to encourage and support the early formation of a Government truly representative of all sections of that society and country. Terrorism is a menace to which open societies are vulnerable; it becomes particularly difficult for democracies to counter when terrorists are armed, financed and backed by Governments or their agencies, and benefit from the protection of State power. Cross- border terrorism, sponsored from across our borders, has taken the lives of thousands of our citizens and ruined those of countless others. We will counter it, as we have done over the past decades, using the methods available to a democracy. India will defeat such forces. That is both our duty and our obligation to our citizens.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Here the crippling intermixing of cause and effect is cruelly exemplified in Afghanistan. The world has been witness to the decades-old distress of the innocent men, women and children of that country. The disorders of Afghanistan, and the near anarchy into which that country has been pushed, are a consequence, chiefly, of the play of external forces and of a reversion to medieval fundamentalism of the most obscurantist variety. This disorder now overspills; it is also exported. It is not that human rights, particularly of women and children, are routinely violated there; they simply do not exist. Our relationships with this neighbour are ancient and rooted in a past that we share.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is also now a grave threat to international peace and security. That is why I urge that we strengthen the international consensus against terrorism. India has called for a comprehensive international convention against terrorism. We hope to make progress on the issue in this session of the General Assembly. We also know how terrorism uses the international financial system, how it exploits the breakdown of countries and societies, and how it has preyed on the nexus between drugs and the proliferation of small arms. Thus, today, we witness a scimitar of narco-terrorism cutting across the Caucasus to the South Asian subcontinent. Two of the world’s largest sources of illicit drugs flank us. Terrorism financed by drugs has for years been the deadly export of our neighbours.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“If globalization is to benefit all, and as we simply cannot accept that wheels of progress should grind down the common man, then surely some new international regulation, some order, is needed here. Let the United Nations take the initiative to hold an urgent international conference on financing for development. In the political domain, too, managing change demands openness and reasoned discourse, an essential ingredient of which is abjuring violence. That is why terrorism is the very antithesis of all that the United Nations represents and stands for. Terrorism is the great global menace of our age. In this age of democracy, it is a violation of the very basic precepts of it. Because its principal targets become the innocent, it is a crime against humanity, a violation of basic human rights.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Today, when capital moves without almost any constraint, it is virtually impossible for developing countries to resist either its demands or manage the consequences of its sudden departure. Let us reflect upon the absence of order, system or any global oversight of currency flows, particularly short-term flows, even as we attempt to bring order and equity to trade in goods, services and commodities. But how are we to address the problem when currency, instead of being a vehicle of trade, has in itself become a commodity of trade, when the volume of trade in currency daily has outstripped global trade in goods and services or even global gross national product manifold?”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is an awe-inspiring spectacle, this unstoppable flow of the great Ganga of Indian democracy. It is a democracy whose economy grew by more than 6 per cent last year, even in the aftermath of the major shocks to the international economy brought about by what was described as the East Asian meltdown of the mid- 1990s. We move with the challenges posed by globalization, without either retreating into a “fortress India” or abandoning our social objectives. We have worked out our own answers and devised our own policies to meet these new challenges because we hold that the sheer diversity of mankind dictates differences in approach, in human beings' respective search for relevant alternatives. This is a truth borne out by the fact that the twentieth century has been witness to the detritus of many false certainties.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“We believe, therefore, that development should be the cross-cutting theme of the United Nations and that the multilateral development system, which has been one of its successes, must be strengthened, its focus narrowed to the core challenges of economic growth with social justice, and it must be given the resources it requires to respond to the needs of the developing countries. The international community will find that no investment yields better returns. 40 I have the honour to address the Assembly as a representative of the largest democracy in the world. Even now, as I share these thoughts, an electorate of about 600 million, matching the combined populations of the United States, Canada and Western Europe, is going through the exciting process of democratically electing its next Government in my country.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“We believe that Indian excellence lies in the freedom of the individual. We do not subscribe to constricting choice through State impositions. But can free markets offer true freedom of choice to those that are not even a part of the market? That is why the State continues to have the responsibility to protect the needy, to strengthen the weak. That is a part of our democratic creed, too. We note that human rights have been made a cross- cutting theme of the work of the United Nations. That is important. The flowering, however, of human rights requires economic development and growth because many of the deprivations faced by individuals, whether in the developed or in the developing world, are rooted in marginalization created by poverty.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“However, though globalization may apparently be driven by impersonal market forces, it is in reality impelled by power seeking political and financial advantage. It is, in essence, a political process, and if history teaches us anything, it is that such processes are not linear. Simply in terms of economic indicators, the world was as globalized at the turn of the century as it is now. A backlash followed: barriers went up, confrontation replaced cooperation and the world jostled into the tensions that led to the first great war. Are we, for the sake of temporary gain, perhaps even unwittingly, repeating yesterday's mistakes? Political hindsight tells us that globalization has to be politically directed for creating equal economic opportunity, both within States and among States. In India, we cherish the creative genius of the people.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Even globalization can work only through State intermediaries. To diminish, marginalize or ignore the State would also be bad practice, because the weaker the State is rendered, the less it shall be able to promote the interests of its citizens. The State needs to be strengthened functionally, not weakened. Besides, it is axiomatic that a United Nations of weak nations can only be a weak United Nations. Globalization is an idea that has re-emerged, but also its reverse: fragmentation. The first is politico-economic, the second entirely political. Let us dwell a bit on this. Obviously, the technology that is driving this process can now scarcely be unlearned; the speed of travel and of communications will only increase; the age of the digital, as I said, has dawned.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“We have but one Earth, and there is but one United Nations. Another development of this century, of crucial significance, is the transformation that we have experienced in the role of the State. From an agency that controlled and regulated all spheres of human activity, we move into a phase wherein the State must become more supportive, caring and encouraging of the citizen's individual and collective endeavours; it must release, not contain, the energies and genius of its people. It would be an error, however, to assume that the days of the State are over. The State continues to have a crucial role and relevance; also, therefore, do national sovereignties. The United Nations was not conceived as a super-State. It will not ever become so, principally because there is no viable substitute for the sovereign State.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)