India, 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.

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.