YouSaid · the spoken record

Manmohan Singh

lines on the record: 55
first: 2004-09-24
most recent: 2013-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-general-debate

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“Two years from now, the United Nations will be 70 years old. Every new State born during that period of 70 years has taken its place in the Assembly not just with pride but also with hope. The year 2015 will be a time to celebrate our successes and ensure that the United Nations is ready for this century, by completing much-needed reforms of the Organization and its Security Council, developing an ambitious and balanced post-2015 development agenda and demonstrating our capacity to cooperate effectively for durable peace and security in the world we live in.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“There can be no tolerance for States sheltering, arming, training or financing terrorists. Nor can States absolve themselves of the responsibility to prevent their territories from being used to launch acts of terrorism. The increasingly complex challenges to international peace and security require a new international consensus to be built, whether it is in the field of cybersecurity, non-proliferation or terrorism. This year, 25 years after Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi put forward a comprehensive action plan for a nuclear- weapon-free and non-violent world order, we must strengthen efforts against nuclear proliferation and pursue time-bound, universal, non-discriminatory, phased and verifiable nuclear disarmament. We must also guard against terrorists and non-State actors gaining access to sensitive materials and technologies.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“India is sincerely committed to resolving all issues with Pakistan, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, through bilateral dialogue on the basis of the Simla Agreement. However, for progress to be made, it is imperative that the territory of Pakistan and the areas under its control not be utilized for aiding and abetting terrorism directed against India. It is equally important that the terrorist machinery that draws its sustenance from Pakistan be shut down. There must be a clear understanding of the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that there can never, ever, be a compromise with the unity and territorial integrity of India. We need to renew our commitment, especially here at the United Nations, to concerted, cohesive and continuing global action against terrorism.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The international community must support the people of Afghanistan through this transition and beyond in combating terrorism, preserving the progress of the past decade and creating a stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan. Terrorism remains a grave threat to security and stability everywhere and exacts a heavy toll of innocent lives around the world. From Africa to Asia, we have seen several manifestations of this menace in the last few days alone. State-sponsored, cross-border terrorism is of particular concern to India, also on account of the fact that the epicentre of terrorism in our region is located in our neighbourhood, in Pakistan. From this rostrum yesterday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan spoke of making a new beginning (see A/68/PV.15). I reciprocate his sentiments and am looking forward to meeting him tomorrow.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“India strongly supports the elimination of chemical-weapons material and equipment in Syria.There is no military solution to that conflict. We must intensify efforts to end the conflict and seek a political settlement. It is essential that the “Geneva II” conference be convened at the earliest opportunity. We are encouraged that direct talks have resumed between Israel and Palestine. India supports the early realization of a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side and at peace with Israel. We also remain committed to the Palestinian quest for full membership in the United Nations. In our own region, Afghanistan prepares for a historic political, security and economic transition.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We must summon the political will necessary to craft a robust global response to climate change on the basis of equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. We are deeply concerned about the future of West Asia, a region with which India shares deep bonds of history and one that is critical for our energy security as well as the livelihoods of the nearly 7 million Indians who work and live in the region. Not only is the increasingly lethal conflict in Syria a tragedy for the people of Syria, but it also threatens stability and security in the region and beyond. It has been made worse by the use of chemical weapons. The use of chemical weapons, whosoever may have deployed them, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Digital technology is being harnessed to improve the delivery of public services and benefits to the people. India is proud of its partnerships with developing countries. Using modest resources, we have built strong ties with Africa and the least developed countries. We are committed to building 100 institutions in Africa and have offered capacity-building support, including thousands of scholarships, and made available over $9.5 billion of concessional assistance. India and Africa are engaging through the India-Africa Forum Summit process. We also look forward to participating actively in the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, to be held in Samoa in 2014, and to contributing to its outcome. Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our times.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It is therefore important that the United Nations set clear and concise goals and provide practical and well-defined means of implementation, including an adequate flow of resources and the transfer of technology, taking the views of developing countries fully into account. A meaningful post-2015 agenda must place equally high priority on food and nutrition, health, education, infrastructure, water, sanitation, energy and combating discrimination against women. Especially critical is women’s equal access to economic opportunities and ensuring that they do not become victims of violence or the targets of prejudice. In India, we have sought to promote inclusive development in multiple ways. Legislation has broadened access to education and secured rural livelihoods. We are now building the world’s largest programme for food security.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That priority should anchor the post-2015 development agenda, which should be shaped by the Member States so that it enjoys the broadest possible support and acceptance. Issues of peace, security, human rights and governance are important and need to be addressed. But we will fall short of realizing an ambitious post-2015 development agenda if we focus merely on governance issues at the cost of robust economic growth. This agenda should not be merely about reprioritizing domestic spending, but also about fostering genuine international partnerships between developing and developed countries to bring about change. All of us need the policy space necessary to set our own domestic priorities. No one knows the condition of developing countries better than the developing countries themselves.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Setting the stage for the post-2015 development agenda is especially important as we deal with a lingering global economic slowdown and continuing volatility in financial markets. These have imposed disproportionately heavy costs on developing countries and the vulnerable groups within them. Growth and inclusive development are naturally important for all our countries. They require a supportive international economic environment, enhanced investment flows, including from multilateral development banks, the transfer of technology, and an open multilateral trading regime. But the problems of the more than 1 billion people living in abject poverty around the world need to be attacked more directly. Poverty remains a major political and economic challenge, and its eradication requires special attention and a new collective thrust.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“More developing countries should be included as both permanent and non-permanent members. The multilateral financial institutions should also enable an enhanced voice for developing countries in their decision-making structures. Multilateral efforts must guide our quest for peace and security, wherever they are threatened, and the centrality and contribution of the United Nations system to development must be restored. Those objectives require the building of a new international consensus suited to our time and rooted in today’s realities. It is only such a plan of action that will enable the United Nations to meet the twin tests of legitimacy, and effectiveness and efficiency. We commend your choice of the theme of this session.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The nearly seven decades of work of the United Nations hold one simple lesson: that we are most successful when we adhere to the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter, basing our decisions on the widest possible consensus and balancing equitably the needs and responsibilities of nations at different stages and levels of development. In those seven decades, the world has changed in fundamental ways. Asia and Africa are independent and resurgent. Countries are now not only more interdependent, but also face new, increasingly complex challenges. For multilateralism to remain relevant and effective in the future, multilateral institutions need to be reformed urgently. The place to begin is right here. The Security Council must be reformed and restructured to reflect current political realities.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Let me first of all congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. We wish you every success and assure you of our fullest cooperation. At a time when the world is facing multiple challenges, there is renewed attention to the role of the United Nations in advancing international peace, security and prosperity. However, never has scepticism about the capacity of the United Nations to do so been higher, or the external environment less propitious for multilateralism.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I am confident that we can do this through acts of statesmanship, foresight and collective effort. India stands ready to play its part in this noble endeavour.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Our plans for utilizing nuclear power to meet our energy needs hinge on full satisfaction of our concerns about the safety of nuclear energy. We have undertaken a thorough review of the safety of our nuclear plants. The perspectives I have outlined to the Assembly are those that have guided our actions in the Security Council since India became a non-permanent member of the Council in January. There are still millions of people living in poverty across the world. Their plight has worsened, through no fault of theirs, due to the global economic and financial crisis of recent years. The actions of Governments around the world are therefore under close scrutiny. It is vitally important that through our actions and deeds we renew the people’s faith in the Charter and objectives of the United Nations.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Simultaneously, the international community should continue with efforts to restore stability in Somalia. We have joined international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the countries afflicted with severe famine and drought in the Horn of Africa, specifically Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti. Nuclear proliferation continues to be a threat to international security. The action plan put forward by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for a nuclear- weapon-free and non-violent world provides, even today, a concrete road map for achieving nuclear disarmament in a time-bound, universal, non-discriminatory, phased and verifiable manner. I commend the United Nations for its efforts in focusing world attention on nuclear safety.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It is essential that the process of nation- building and reconciliation in that country succeed. This is vital for ensuring peace and security in the region. India will play its part in helping the people of Afghanistan build a better future for themselves, just as we are doing in other countries in South Asia. We will do so because prosperity and stability in our region are indivisible. We wish to see an open, inclusive and transparent architecture of regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and peaceful settlement of disputes. I call upon the United Nations to evolve a comprehensive and effective response to the problem of piracy in the Red Sea and off the coast of Somalia. As a littoral State of the Indian Ocean, India is ready to work with other countries in that regard.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We need more cooperation in agricultural technologies, water conservation, land usage and productivity, and stability in commodity prices. 11 11-51360 Developing countries need a peaceful external environment in which to grow. The fight against terrorism must be unrelenting. There cannot be selective approaches in dealing with terrorist groups or the infrastructure of terrorism. Terrorism has to be fought across all fronts. In South Asia there are encouraging signs of cooperation in the area of security, as exemplified in India’s cooperation with Bangladesh. Such cooperation is adding to the security of both our countries. However, the recent assassination of Mr. Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul is a chilling reminder of the designs of the enemies of peace in Afghanistan.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“During the recently held fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries Conference in Istanbul in May 2011, India strengthened its partnership with the least developed countries through significantly enhanced lines of credit and assistance in capacity- building. We should pay particular attention to Africa. Africa’s richest resources are not its minerals but its people. We must empower them and open the doors for them to human advances through technology, education and skills development. At the second India-Africa Forum Summit in Addis Ababa earlier this year, India offered lines of credit worth $5 billion and an additional $700 million in grant assistance for human resource development, technology transfer and building new institutions. The United Nations should lead efforts in the area of food security.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“In the past few decades, India has lifted tens of millions of its people out of abject poverty. We are in a position to feed our population better, educate them better and widen their economic choices. However, we still have a very long way to go. We wish to accelerate the pace of India’s transformation in partnership with the international community. A fast-growing India can expand the boundaries of the global economy. A democratic, plural and secular India can contribute to tolerance and peaceful coexistence among nations. Developing countries need investment, technology and market access for their products. They need assistance in the areas of education, health, women’s empowerment and agriculture.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We should not allow the global economic slowdown to become a pretext for building walls around ourselves through protectionism or erecting barriers to the movement of people, services and capital. Effective ways and means must be deployed to promote the coordination of the macroeconomic policies of the major economies. The reform of the governance systems of international financial institutions should be pursued with speed and efficiency. The development agenda must be brought firmly back to centre stage in United Nations priorities. We need a much more determined effort to ensure balanced, inclusive and sustainable development for the benefit of vast sections of humanity. Each of us can contribute to this task, but we can achieve far more if we act in partnership.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“There are many other things that we can do. We must address the issue of the deficit in global governance. We need a stronger and more effective United Nations. We need a United Nations that is sensitive to the aspirations of everyone, rich or poor, big or small. For this, the United Nations and its principal organs, the General Assembly and the Security Council, must be revitalized and reformed. The reform and expansion of the Security Council are essential if it is to reflect contemporary reality. Such an outcome will enhance the Council’s credibility and effectiveness in dealing with global issues. Early reform of the Security Council must be pursued with renewed vigour and urgently enacted.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The observance of the rule of law is as important in international affairs as it is within countries. Societies cannot be reordered from outside through military force. People in all countries have the right to choose their own destiny and decide their own future. The international community has a role to play in assisting in the processes of transition and institution- building, but the idea that prescriptions should be imposed from outside is fraught with danger. Action taken under the authority of the United Nations must respect the unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of individual States. Correspondingly, governments are duty-bound to their citizens to create conditions that enable them to freely determine their pathways to development. This is the essence of democracy and fundamental human freedoms.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Acts of piracy are being carried out with impunity from lands that are beyond the writ of any functioning State or international accountability. Iniquitous growth, inadequate job and education opportunities and the denial of basic human freedoms are leading to a growing radicalization of the youth, intolerance and extremism. 11-51360 10 We have no choice but to meet these challenges head-on. We will succeed if we adopt a cooperative rather than a confrontational approach. We will succeed if we embrace once again the principles on which the United Nations was founded: internationalism and multilateralism. More importantly, we will succeed if our efforts have legitimacy and are pursued not just within the framework of the law but also in the spirit of the law.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Energy and food prices are once again spiralling and introducing fresh instability, especially for developing countries. The Palestinian question remains unresolved and a source of great instability and violence. India is steadfast in its support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognizable borders side by side and at peace with Israel. We look forward to welcoming Palestine as an equal Member of the United Nations. Terrorism continues to rear its ugly head and take a grievous toll of innocent lives. New threats to international security have emerged. At a time when the world needs more international commerce, the sea lanes of communication across the Indian Ocean are under siege.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The shoots of recovery which were visible after the economic and financial crisis of 2008 have yet to blossom. In many respects, the crisis has deepened even further. The traditional engines of the global economy, including the United States, Europe and Japan, which are also the sources of global economic and financial stability, are today faced with continued economic slowdown. Recessionary trends in those countries are affecting confidence in world financial and capital markets. These developments are bound to have a negative impact on developing countries, which also have to bear the additional burden of inflationary pressures. There has been unprecedented social and political upheaval in West Asia, the Gulf and North Africa. The peoples of those regions are demanding the right to shape their own future.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Allow me at the outset to congratulate Mr. Al-Nasser on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly. I wish to assure him of India’s full cooperation in the conduct of the sixty-sixth session of the Assembly. It is also my great pleasure to welcome in our midst the new State of South Sudan. We meet during this session of the General Assembly at a time of great uncertainty and profound change. Until a few years ago, the world had taken for granted the benefits of globalization and global interdependence. Today we are being called upon to cope with the negative dimensions of those very phenomena. Economic, social and political events in different parts of the world have coalesced, and their adverse impact is now being felt across countries and continents. The world economy is in trouble.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We seek to expand areas of cooperation with all these countries to deal with the challenges of sustainable development and poverty eradication. The United Nations is a living symbol of pluralism. It has weathered many storms. It is the vehicle through which our combined will and efforts to address global challenges must be articulated and implemented. Unless we rise to the task, we will bequeath to succeeding generations a world of diminishing prospects.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“It is vital that we strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism and to bring the perpetrators, organizers, financers and sponsors of terrorism to justice. We should conclude expeditiously the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism. In this context, the situation in Afghanistan is a matter of deep concern. The international community must pool all its resources to ensure the success of Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts and its emergence as a moderate, pluralistic and democratic society. We welcome the return of democracy in Pakistan. We are committed to resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, through peaceful dialogue. We also welcome the coming to power of democratically elected Governments in Nepal and Bhutan.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The outcome must be fair and equitable and recognize the principle that each citizen of the world has equal entitlement to the global atmospheric space. I believe that the pursuit of ecologically sustainable development need not be in contradiction to achieving our growth objectives. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The earth has enough resources to meet people’s needs, but will never have enough to satisfy people’s greed.” 08-52265 10 India has unveiled an ambitious national action plan on climate change. Even as we pursue economic growth, we are committed to our per capita emissions of greenhouse gases not exceeding those of the developed countries. The growing assertion of separate identities and ethnic, cultural and religious intolerance threaten our developmental efforts and our peace and stability.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“This is a vindication of India’s impeccable record on non-proliferation and testifies to our long-standing commitment to nuclear disarmament that is global, universal and non-discriminatory in nature. The blueprint for this was spelled out by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in this very Assembly 20 years ago. I reiterate India’s proposal for a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons and providing for their complete elimination within a specified time frame. Climate change can be overcome successfully only through a collaborative and cooperative global effort. We support the multilateral negotiations now taking place under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We need a much greater measure of predictability and stability in the oil and gas markets. We need to think of ways and means, such as early warning mechanisms, to help countries cope with oil shocks. We must put in place a global cooperative network of institutions of developed and developing countries engaged in research and development in energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, and renewable sources of energy. India is registering rapid economic growth, and has combined it with declining energy intensity of its economy. However, our total demand will keep increasing, and we are actively looking for all possible sources of clean energy. The opening of international civil nuclear cooperation with India will have a positive impact on global energy security and on the efforts to combat climate change.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The commitment to achieve the ambitious targets set as part of the Millennium Development Goals was an acknowledgement by the international community that global prosperity and welfare are indivisible and that affluence cannot coexist with pervasive poverty. Unfortunately, solemn commitments made for the transfer of financial resources from the developed to the developing world have remained largely unfulfilled. The commitment of developed countries to move to the target set long ago of 0.7 per cent of gross national income as official development assistance needs to be honoured as a matter of priority. In this context, special efforts have to be made to address the concerns of Africa for adequate resource flows to support its development. Poverty alleviation and livelihood security are closely linked to energy security.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“This will require transfer of technology and innovation from developed to developing countries. India is very keen to expand cooperation with Africa in Africa’s quest for food and livelihood security for its people. Trade liberalization in agriculture can help, provided it adequately takes into account the livelihood concerns of poor and vulnerable farmers in the developing and least developed countries. It is feared that many of the conflicts of the twenty-first century will be over water. We must therefore reflect on how to use this scarce resource most efficiently. We need to invest in new technologies and new production regimes for rain-fed and dryland agriculture and explore cost-effective desalination technologies. Poverty, ignorance and disease still afflict millions and millions of people.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“There is, therefore, a need for a new international initiative to bring structural reform in the world’s financial system, with more effective regulation and 9 08-52265 stronger systems of multilateral consultations and surveillance. This must be designed in as inclusive a manner as possible. The world food crisis is the cumulative consequence of the neglect of agriculture in the developing world, exacerbated by distortionary agricultural subsidies in the developed world. Diversion of cultivable land for producing biofuels is compounding the problem. The world needs a second green revolution to address the problem of food security. We need new technologies, new institutional responses and above all a global compact to ensure food and livelihood security.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The net impact of these problems is that both the industrialized economies and the developing economies face inflation and a slowdown in growth after several years of robust expansion. Industrialized countries can afford periods of slow growth. Developing countries cannot. There is therefore an urgent need for coordinated action by the global community on several fronts. The explosion of financial innovation unaccompanied by credible systemic regulation has made the financial system vulnerable. The resulting crisis of confidence threatens global prosperity in the increasingly interdependent world in which we all live.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The composition of the Security Council needs to change to reflect contemporary realities of the twenty-first century. Only a truly representative and revitalized United Nations can become the effective focal point for the cooperative efforts of the world community. We need to expeditiously hold negotiations towards this end. Globalization has contributed to ever-widening circles of prosperity, and we in India have also benefited from it. But its benefits have not been equitably distributed. Ensuring inclusive growth within nations, and inclusive globalization across nations, is a central challenge facing us all. The development gains that many countries have made are today threatened by a possible food crisis, a global energy crisis and, most recently, unprecedented upheavals in international financial markets.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“May I first congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the Assembly at its sixty-third session. I am sure that your wisdom and vast experience will guide us as we deliberate the many challenges that the world faces today. The United Nations is the embodiment of our faith in the benefits of collective action and of multilateral approaches in resolving global issues. At the 2005 World Summit we pledged ourselves to an agenda for early and meaningful reform of the United Nations. However, we must acknowledge frankly that there has been little progress on the core elements of the reform agenda. We need to make more determined efforts to revitalize the General Assembly to enable it to fulfil its rightful role as the principal deliberative organ of the United Nations system.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We are confident that, in the inextricably interdependent world we live in, our commitment to the common good, which this Organization embodies, will be resolute and full. In this, we are inspired by the vision of internationalism bequeathed to us by India’s first Prime Minister, the great Jawaharlal Nehru — a vision of a world order whose pillars are peace, harmony, cooperation and development. That vision needs to reanimate the collective wisdom of the world community for a new partnership to meet the unprecedented challenges we face.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“All of us have to grow out of the comfort of the predictable, discard constraining habits of thought, and move forward with confidence to meet the demands of the present and the future. Each of us has to be prepared to take on new obligations and larger responsibilities relevant to the needs of our time. I deem it a privilege to say unhesitatingly that India is conscious of the responsibilities that lie ahead. I speak of an India on the move — on the cutting edge of economic, technological and developmental transformations. This is an India endowed with outstanding human resources, and we are putting in place policies which will respond to emerging and critical tasks. We have the capabilities and capacity to take these on, and to participate in the restructuring of a just and dynamic world order.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“India’s assistance to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development will continue. Relations between India and Pakistan have been a matter of attention for the international community. It is known that in January this year India and Pakistan initiated a composite dialogue to resolve all issues, including that of Jammu and Kashmir. I reaffirm our determination to carry forward that dialogue to a purposeful and mutually acceptable conclusion. In closing, I would like to reaffirm India’s commitment to the principles that have brought us together in this Organization. Those principles retain their relevance and validity even while the global economy and the international political order pose new and very different challenges.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The United Nations has a central role to play in erasing the discord of the recent past and in ensuring that the Iraqi people can soon exercise effective sovereignty, preserving the country’s unity and territorial integrity. An end to the suffering of the Iraqi people and recognition of their aspirations should be the guiding objectives. Consistent with our longstanding ties of friendship with the Iraqi people, India will contribute to Iraq’s humanitarian and economic reconstruction. In the past three years, the international community has assisted Afghanistan in pulling back from the brink of chaos and chronic instability. We sincerely hope that the upcoming presidential elections and the subsequent parliamentary elections will allow the Afghan people to express their will, free from interference and intimidation.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“An overwhelming majority of the world’s population cannot be excluded from an institution that today legislates on an increasing number of issues, with an ever-widening impact. The expansion of the Security Council, in the categories of both permanent and non-permanent members, and the inclusion of countries like India as permanent Members would be a first step in the process of making the United Nations a truly representative body. I would like to make brief references to two countries with which India has had historically friendly ties and whose early return to political normalcy is the focus of the world’s attention. The situation in Iraq causes us great concern.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“It is common knowledge that the United Nations is often unable to exert an effective influence on global economic and political issues of critical importance. 15 That is due to what may be called its democracy deficit, which stands in the way of an effective multilateralism based on a democratically-evolved global consensus. Therefore, reform and restructuring of the United Nations system can alone provide a crucial link in an expanding chain of efforts to refashion international structures, imbuing them with a greater degree of participatory decision-making so as to make them more representative of contemporary realities. Our Millennium Declaration recognized the urgency of the reform of the United Nations Security Council.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Democracy’s representative nature validates the commitments we take on as countries; it should also determine the manner in which the architecture of international institutions evolves. What is required for the international community to successfully deal with global challenges — whether they be security challenges, economic challenges or challenges in the sphere of the environment — is the existence of international institutions and a culture of genuine multilateralism. The United Nations and its specialized agencies are the only instruments available for responding effectively to the challenges we face collectively. But what is missing is our sustained commitment to democratizing the functioning of the United Nations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The experience of the decades since the inception of the United Nations demonstrates the great significance of democracy as an instrument for achieving both peace and prosperity. While it is gratifying that the frontiers of democracy have expanded dramatically in the last decade and a half, they still exclude significant numbers. Only a few months ago, in India’s fourteenth general election, our country went through the largest exercise of popular will in the world. I can therefore assert with confidence, the importance that national articulations in global forums have in truly reflecting the democratically expressed will of their people. We choose to overlook the absence of democracy in too many cases for reasons of political expediency.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The world faces ominous pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, but it today also possesses remedies and skills that can rid the world of that scourge. We face problems of environmental degradation in many parts of our planet, but we also have available safe and environment- friendly technologies. Many countries are beset by problems of hunger and malnutrition, but we possess modern techniques of food production and processing to make a hunger-free world a credible and realistic dream. Although our excessive dependence on hydrocarbons raises concerns about the long-term availability of energy and about the security of supplies, technology has made available many environmentally sound alternative technologies. What we lack, however, is a truly global agreement and a mobilization of the international community to overcome the massive challenges.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“We need to find innovative sources of financing and access to new technologies that are necessary to assist those who are on the margins of globalization. Just as prosperity cannot be sustained by being walled in, poverty cannot be banished to some invisible periphery. Development must therefore return to the centre of the global discourse. We must evolve equitable and rule-based regimes to manage global trade, investment flows and the movement of services. Four years ago, at our Millennium Summit, we adopted ambitious global development goals, but it is a matter of concern that we have already fallen behind in their implementation. While globalization has generated new challenges, it has also given us new technologies to deal with those massive challenges.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Globalization has undoubtedly brought enhanced effectiveness and efficiency in the functioning of our economies. It has integrated marketplaces, higher standards of living and a revolution in global connectivity. But there is also the phenomenon of widening economic disparities, both within and among countries. Connectivity also means that the people are painfully aware — in real time — of how far and how fast they are falling behind in their relative living conditions. Development today is no longer a function of domestic resources and national policies alone. It is a process that is vitally linked to the international economic environment that the developing countries face. The international community must find ways to contract those circles of exclusion.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“As far back as 1988, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi outlined a series of specific steps in an action plan, whose central proposition remains valid even today — that progressive steps towards the elimination 14 of weapons of mass destruction must be based on a balance of obligations between those who possess such weapons and those who do not. It is quite evident today that a global discourse is required for evolving a more cooperative and consensual international security order. India believes that such consensus must differentiate between States whose actions strengthen non-proliferation and those that weaken the realization of its objectives. Let me now turn to the central theme for the vast majority of United Nations Members; the challenge of development and the eradication of mass poverty.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)