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.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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.