India, 2009

I offer my congratulations

to Mr. Treki on his assumption of the presidency of the

General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. My

delegation assures him of our fullest cooperation

during his stewardship of this Assembly, which

embodies the hopes, aspirations and shared vision of

peace and development of all the peoples of our planet.

When this session of the General Assembly ends

next year, the United Nations will have completed

65 years of existence. These past decades have seen the

world change in fundamental ways. Connectivity

defines our global condition, and the challenges that

we collectively face are truly global. The resolution of

these challenges, as we are aware, requires global

approaches and solutions. What may happen in one

part of the world has an impact on other regions. In the

context of these rapidly emerging changes and their

deep and diverse effects, we must consider more

deeply whether the United Nations and other global

governance structures are geared to effectively meeting

the challenges that confront us all.

It is of concern that, even after more than six

decades of existence, our international governance

structures are neither inclusive nor participatory.

Consequently, these structures and institutions have not

kept pace or evolved with the changed nature, intensity

and depth of contemporary global issues. The question

is therefore: Are these institutions able to address these

challenges adequately or satisfactorily? The reform and

restructuring of the global governance architecture are

the critical needs of our times, and the voices of the

developing world, including those of the small island

nations and Africa, are of principal and core relevance

if we are to have truly participatory and global

responses to global challenges.

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One need not look very far to identify these

challenges. The current economic and financial

turmoil, which did not begin in the developing world,

has affected developing countries the most. Growth has

slowed, with recession overtaking many countries. The

international response to this challenge must consist

not only of the measures that have been taken to

stimulate economies, but also, more importantly, of

finding ways to restructure the current international

governance system, which has failed to respond to the

virulence of the financial and economic crisis.

To gloss over this structural deficit of the current

global financial and economic architecture would

imperil the future of a vast majority of the peoples of

this world and presage greater difficulties in the future.

In the face of the current economic and financial crisis,

hard-won gains in alleviating poverty, hunger, illiteracy

and disease are being reversed. The achievements of

the Millennium Development Goals are seriously

threatened. Policies of protectionism under such

already adverse circumstances will exacerbate the

serious situation that many countries face.

It is imperative that the United Nations act in

concert to coherently overcome these challenges. India,

which is actively engaged in the Group of 20 and other

processes, has always stressed that developing

countries must receive priority in any global response

to the crisis. The United Nations Conference on the

Financial and Economic Crisis held in June was

opportune and provided a useful platform for

collectively seeking ways and means to respond to the

crisis. We now look forward to early implementation

during the course of this General Assembly of the

follow-up measures agreed on at the Conference.

At the centre stage of multilateralism and

international cooperation is the United Nations. This

Organization is a platform on which the world meets to

express views and undertake commitments on global

issues of mutual concern on an equal footing. It is no

wonder, then, that the Charter of the United Nations

begins with the inspiring words “We the peoples of the

United Nations”. Inclusiveness and collective action in

all aspects of the work of the Organization are at the

heart of its Charter. This vision must be our lodestar,

the guiding principle of all we undertake. India is

committed to working with Member States to make the

United Nations more relevant and attuned to

contemporary realities.

Reforming the United Nations is a matter of the

highest priority. Four years after the 2005 World

Summit, there has not been much progress even as

newer and more global crises and problems have

emerged. We should not let slowness of action weaken

the Organization in the face of such challenges. Rather,

we must work in concert to make it more robust and

capable of effective response.

Reform in the three essentials of the Charter —

peace and security, development and human rights —

requires our collective attention. The General

Assembly must be revitalized in full measure, and its

role as the anvil of global deliberation must be

strengthened. The Economic and Social Council must

become the fulcrum of development. It must be

accepted that the Security Council must be

strengthened and made more representative by

expanding its permanent and non-permanent

membership. Ongoing intergovernmental negotiations

during the past six months have unambiguously

established that an overwhelming majority of Member

States share the perspective that an expansion in both

categories of Security Council membership is needed.

Climate change is one of the most important

global challenges that we face today. Developing

countries bear a disproportionate share of its adverse

effects, even though they are not responsible for it.

Cognizant of the serious threat that climate change

poses, India is engaged in the ongoing negotiations

under the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC), including at the upcoming

Copenhagen Conference. India will work for an

outcome that recognizes the development imperatives

of developing countries and is rooted in the principle

of common but differentiated responsibilities and

respective capabilities.

We also must move away from concentrating on

mitigation only and ensure that there is a focus on

adaptation, which is critical for developing countries.

We are hosting a high-level global conference on

“Climate Change: Technology Development and

Transfer” on 22 and 23 October 2009, in cooperation

with the United Nations. The objective of the

conference is to help formulate a road map for

technology in the context of climate change mitigation

and adaptation to support the UNFCCC process.

Developing countries must be supported

financially, technologically and with capacity-building

29 09-52592

resources so that they can cope with the immense

challenges of adaptation. Special efforts are required to

develop programmes that address the critical needs of

small island States and of the most vulnerable

countries.

Poverty alleviation and livelihood security are

central imperatives for India. To that end, accelerated

economic growth and energy security are critical

drivers. In pursuing our development goals, India has

been successful in significantly reducing its energy

intensity. India will continue to pursue that path.

India is aware that the continuing volatility in the

fossil-fuel markets, together with the threat of climate

change, makes the development of all renewable and

clean energy sources — including nuclear energy —

crucial. In that context, international civil-nuclear

cooperation is important.

India has also taken several independent

initiatives to address the issue of climate change. We

have put in place a comprehensive policy and

legislative framework, as well as a national action plan

on climate change with eight separate national

missions. An unprecedented afforestation campaign has

been launched with a doubling of the forestry budget

this year to $1.3 billion, and this increase is going to be

sustained every year. The Prime Minister’s Council has

approved national missions for enhanced energy

efficiency and solar energy, setting ambitious goals.

We are supporting and facilitating major research to

assess various aspects related to climate change.

India attaches the highest priority to the goal of

nuclear disarmament and has an impeccable

non-proliferation record. We welcome the renewed

global debate on achieving a world free of nuclear

weapons. That corresponds with India’s long-standing

and consistent advocacy of nuclear disarmament as one

of the highest priorities of the international community.

We have put forward a number of proposals on nuclear

disarmament at the United Nations, including a

working paper in 2006 proposing elements to fashion a

new consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation.

Last year, at the sixty-third session of the General

Assembly, consistent with India’s long-standing

commitment as articulated in the Rajiv Gandhi Action

Plan in 1988, India reiterated its proposal that a nuclear

weapons convention be convened to ban the

production, development, stockpiling and use of

nuclear weapons and to provide for their complete

elimination within a time frame. The international

nuclear order cannot be discriminatory. Further, States

must fulfil the obligations that they have undertaken.

Once more, with feeling and with commitment, India

reiterates that proposal.

We will continue to engage with key countries to

intensify this debate in the hope that greater

international understanding will lend itself to a firm

commitment to action on nuclear disarmament. It was

in that spirit that we supported the adoption of a

programme of work, including on a fissile material cut-

off treaty (FMCT), at the Conference on Disarmament

in May this year. It is consistent with India’s position

to work with others at the Conference on Disarmament

towards the conclusion of a non-discriminatory,

multilaterally negotiated and internationally verifiable

FMCT, provided it corresponds with India’s national

security interests. We remain committed to a voluntary,

unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing.

India stands committed to the safeguarding of

international peace and security. Over the past five

decades, we have contributed more than

100,000 peacekeepers and have suffered a high number

of casualties during this time. Strengthening the

normative basis for peacekeeping operations and

giving major troop-contributing countries a greater say

will serve to make peacekeeping more effective.

Peace, security, stability and the welfare of our

neighbourhood are vital for India. There is a new

beginning in Sri Lanka; in Nepal, strengthening the

peace process is in our collective interest; and in

Afghanistan, the international community must remain

intensively engaged and support its development

efforts and the maintenance of peace and stability.

India is committed to establishing good-neighbourly

relations and resolving all outstanding issues with

Pakistan through peaceful dialogue.

The barbaric terrorist attack on the innocent

people of Mumbai on 26 November 2008 reminded us

of the daily and malignant menace that terrorism poses

to all countries. There can be no justification

whatsoever for such mindless terrorist acts. It is our

collective responsibility and duty to work together to

ensure that terrorists and the organizers, perpetrators

and supporters of such crimes are brought to justice.

In order to strengthen the international legal

framework of the fight against terrorism, India has

proposed a comprehensive convention on international

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terrorism. Discussions on the draft have gone on for far

too long. It is time that the convention be finally

adopted. India earnestly calls upon all countries to

make serious efforts in the next few weeks to arrive at

a consensus on the text.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate India’s steadfast

commitment to the work of the United Nations.

Speaking to this Assembly 41 years ago, Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi said:

“The United Nations is the trustee of the

world’s peace and represents the hopes of

mankind. Its very existence gives a feeling of

assurance that the justice of true causes can be

brought fearlessly before the world. This

Assembly and the agencies of the United Nations

should, in all that they do, sustain those hopes

and promote the causes of peace.” (A/PV.1693,

para. 150)

The truth and conviction of these words are more

meaningful today than ever before.