India, 1993

Mr. President, your

unanimous election as President augurs well for the forty-

eighth session of the General Assembly. I extend my

heartiest congratulations to you and best wishes for success.

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Secretary-General, has

given a new vision and a new impetus to the United Nations

at a crucial time in its history. We wish him well in his

efforts.

My Government is deeply touched by the sympathy and

compassion expressed by the leaders of several delegations

on the devastating earthquake in India on

30 September 1993, and, with your permission,

Mr. President, I shall have to go back to India immediately.

The United Nations will soon be 50 years old. It has

had many achievements to its credit: decolonization; efforts

to alleviate poverty; peace-keeping; disarmament; devising

an accepted code of international law; respect for human

rights and concern for the environment. I would like to

reiterate India’s faith in and consistent support for the United

Nations and its efforts to establish peace and the well-being

of peoples. We take note that the United Nations is trying

to evolve so as to better serve the principles and purposes of

the Charter. We support the Secretary-General’s efforts to

make what he has called a transition from the old to the new

United Nations, which would be particularly useful and

fruitful for the less developed and less fortunate States.

The euphoria generated by the end of the cold war has

in the past two years given way to concerns about the

difficulties of achieving a new global equilibrium and

stability. Essentially, we can see these difficulties arising

from the contradictory pulls and pressures exerted by the

forces of positive integration and harmony on the one hand

and fragmentation and discord on the other.

The end of the divisions of the cold war and the efforts

to halt and reverse the arms race have generated some of the

integrative forces. Some forces of integration have also been

at work in the global economy, which has been characterized

by the globalization and interdependence of countries’

factors of production and of issues of trade, money, finance,

technology, environment, population and development. The

desire of the developing countries to participate more

actively in the growth of the world economy and the

building-up of free-market, liberalized economies for

themselves adds another positive dimension. Issues of

common concern and global survival - economic

development and regeneration, environmental sustainability,

demographic management, technological dynamism and

health for all - have provided a sense of common destiny.

The communications revolution has resulted in greater

cultural intermingling and openness around the world.

These forces of integration are, unfortunately, opposed

by those of fragmentation. Represented by sectarian and

subnational aggression, racism, religious fundamentalism,

bigotry, terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling, they

pose a threat to peace, global security, democracy, human

rights and economic and social development. We are also

witnessing strife, conflicts and cruel, unceasing and irrational

civil wars in many parts of the world. Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Somalia and Afghanistan cause us anxiety and

concern. The proliferation of such local conflicts and the

ever-increasing flow of refugees across national frontiers re-

affirm the truism that peace, like freedom, is indivisible and

that the disruption of peace anywhere is a danger to peace

everywhere.

These divisive forces have caused not only political

instability but also economic collapse in several instances.

Conversely, economic sluggishness and lack of development

in several cases have led to political upheavals. Inward-

looking, exclusivist and narrowly self-centred global

economic policy-making has been in evidence at a time

when the global economy is overshadowed by recession and

lack of dynamism. Macroeconomic coordination is at its

weakest. Protectionist tendencies are strong. The potential

of developing countries to act as vigorous engines of growth

for revitalizing the world economy stands largely ignored.

In developing countries, absolute and deepening poverty,

hunger and malnutrition, disease, illiteracy and the lack of

shelter and sanitation for a large portion of the population

have caused political and social tensions. The structural

imbalances and flaws of the post-Second-World-War

international economic order persist and prevent the

maximization of the benefits of interdependence and

globalization.

Against this backdrop, the task of the United Nations

should be to construct a new global equilibrium by fostering

positive integrative forces and discouraging, if not

counteracting, the forces of fragmentation and discord. For

this, the new United Nations will have to reiterate the

fundamental and immutable principles on which it was built:

respect for the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and

sovereign equality of nation States. I am glad that the

12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

Secretary-General stated in his report to the forty-eighth

session:

"National sovereignty is the art of rendering

unequal power equal. Without State sovereignty, the

very instrument of international cooperation might be

destroyed and international organization might itself

become impossible." (A/48/1, para. 16)

The United Nations will have to set an example for the

conduct of relations amongst nation States on the basis of

respect for the rule of law, democracy and pluralism. Any

international framework, whether it be associated with peace

or development, must be transparent and must deal with

issues of global concerns on a non-selective and non--

discriminatory basis.

In the final analysis, the institutions, concepts and

agencies that represent the new world order will be judged

by their ability to harness and channel the beneficial and

creative forces of integration for the benefit of peace and

development for all and by the ability of the United Nations

to ensure that the interests of its weaker Member States are

fully reflected therein. In these still perilous times, they

would have to promote development cooperation and

effectively arrest the plunge into insecurity, strife and chaos,

particularly when these threaten the very foundation of

Member States, where ultimately the United Nations is

rooted.

There have been references in this Assembly to all

these conflicts, big or small, local or with international

dimensions, describing them in the generic terms of ethnic,

religious and civil wars. The plurality and complexity of our

post-cold-war world do not permit such generic labelling.

Nor are these conflicts amenable to generic and instant

remedies. A number of instances of strife or aberrations are

part of the historical legacies inherited by Member States.

Each is posited in a different socio-economic and cultural

matrix of causation; each is caught up in a different cycle of

circumstance and violence. The imposition of peace through

unilateral external intervention will only perpetuate situations

embodying the Orwellian logic of "peace is war" that we see

in many parts of the world today.

Wisdom lies in overcoming conflict situations with a

positive vision animated by peace and amity and in creating

the necessary confidence and will for peace among countries

and peoples. It is in this spirit that India is ready to initiate

a dialogue with Pakistan to build mutual confidence and to

promote a climate of stability in our region. I can only hope

that Pakistan will respond to this, and have a dialogue with

us, instead of trying to go around the world accentuating

differences that will be difficult to resolve later.

We welcome the recently concluded peace accord

between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization

(PLO), and earnestly hope that this will be a true harbinger

of further positive developments aimed at establishing lasting

peace and prosperity in West Asia. We also welcome the

announcement by Mr. Nelson Mandela that irreversible

progress towards a non-racial, democratic South Africa has

been made. In response to his suggestion, India, which had

imposed trade sanctions against South Africa as early as

1946, has initiated action to lift those sanctions and to

normalize relations with South Africa.

We trust that the recognition by the Security Council of

the international boundary between Iraq and Kuwait will

contribute to the stabilization of the situation in the Gulf

region. We hope that the faithful implementation of the

relevant Security Council resolutions will lead to the

alleviation of the present difficulties of the peoples of the

region.

In Somalia, a whole population has gone through a

protracted civil war and famine with hardly any

governmental machinery to tackle the situation. This made

it imperative for the United Nations to act. As an

unprecedented humanitarian mission, the multilateral action

in Somalia enjoyed the support of the entire world, including

the factional Somali leaders themselves. India, for its part,

has contributed one of the largest contingents to this mission.

Now that the situation has improved and starvation has been

averted, the United Nations operation faces new problems.

It is necessary for the United Nations to reassure all sectors

of the people of Somalia about its role in the country,

intensify the process of political reconciliation and adhere

strictly to the original objectives of the mission.

The phenomenal increase in peace-keeping operations

in the post-cold-war period and their inclusion as an element

of the new agenda for peace is at once a matter of comfort

and concern. It is a matter of comfort because the United

Nations at long last has started playing its Charter role in the

area of peace and security. In the altered international

political environment, we would like the United Nations to

realize its full potential. At the same time, the involvement

of the United Nations on an unprecedented scale with peace-

keeping operations causes us concern because operationally

the United Nations is not fully prepared and equipped to

discharge this role effectively. And, legally and

conceptually, the limits, procedures and rules of the

involvement of the United Nations are not clearly defined.

Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 13

For peace-keeping operations to be successful, it is

necessary to follow certain guidelines and criteria. All

avenues of pacific settlement of disputes, as laid down in

Chapter VI of the Charter, should be fully explored and

exhausted before resorting to peace-keeping operations under

Chapter VII. Decisions on such operations should be taken

in a democratic and broad-based manner, and after thorough

consideration of all aspects. To command universal

endorsement and maintain their non-partisan character,

United Nations peace-keeping operations must be based on

the consent of all the States parties to a dispute. They

should be undertaken with a specific mandate and a clear

time-frame. Greater efficiency should be achieved in both

planning and execution of peace-keeping operations. The

Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, in his address to

the General Assembly a few days ago, put forward a few

proposals in this respect which merit consideration by the

General Assembly. The concept of invoking humanitarian

relief as a basis for peace-keeping operations may have to be

approached with a great deal of caution and circumspection.

Any new United Nations operation for providing

humanitarian relief must be completely non-partisan - in fact

and in the perception of the parties involved.

That consideration must also guide any discussion or

decision on preventive deployment. The United Nations

must not allow itself to be burdened indefinitely with

obsolete and ineffective peace-keeping operations. Every

possible measure should be taken to ensure the safety of

peace-keeping personnel.

Another aspect of the agenda for peace which we

would like to underline is the particular importance we

attach to Article 50, which enjoins the Security Council to

find solutions to the special economic problems faced by

third States on account of the implementation of sanctions

imposed by the Security Council. We call for an automatic

mechanism that would put remedial action in place

simultaneously with the imposition of sanctions.

An integral element of any agenda for peace in our

time is the achievement of disarmament, particularly nuclear

disarmament. Having endorsed the Chemical Weapons

Convention, the United Nations should move on to consider

similar steps in other areas of disarmament.

We welcome the unilateral decision of the United States

to extend its moratorium on nuclear testing until the end

of 1994. The focus of the nuclear-weapon Powers should

now be on the early conclusion of a universal, verifiable and

comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty leading to the

elimination of all nuclear weapons.

India’s commitment to non-proliferation is complete

and unequivocal. India has an unblemished track record.

India’s proposal made in 1988 for an action plan for nuclear

disarmament within a specific time-frame is of continuing

relevance in our bid to rid the world of the global scourge

of nuclear weapons. We believe that a new, just and

uniformly applicable regime for non-proliferation which does

not discriminate between the nuclear-weapon and the

non-nuclear-weapon States should be considered at an early

date. Such a treaty should place equal obligations on all

States. For a non-proliferation regime to be truly

meaningful, it must also address the questions of a

convention on the non-use of nuclear weapons, a verifiable

freeze on the production of fissionable material, a total ban

on nuclear-weapon tests and negotiations on general and

complete disarmament. The global spread and reach of

nuclear weapons reduce to a travesty the objective of

achieving genuine peace and security within a narrow

regional framework. It is our hope that the United Nations

will take firm action in this direction to achieve this in the

sense I have mentioned.

One area of concern for developing countries is the

question of ad hoc and unilateral export controls and other

restrictions being placed on the transfer of dual-use and high

technology with the ostensible purpose of curbing

proliferation. Non-proliferation concerns must not be made

a pretext for denying developing countries access to

technologies critical for their development. There is,

therefore, need to evolve multilateral, non-discriminatory and

transparent arrangements to regulate the transfer of such

technologies so that peaceful uses and dissemination of some

key technologies are not denied to the developing world.

There is perhaps merit in convening a special session

on disarmament to examine the whole gamut of

disarmament-related issues that arise in the new context of

today. The question of a peace dividend arising from

disarmament in the form of financial and technical resources

for the enhancement of international development

cooperation in the context of the United Nations could be

one of the issues that special session could address.

It is obvious that there can be no global security unless

development is ensured, and we therefore attach as much

importance to an agenda for development as to the "Agenda

for Peace". Agenda 21 of the Rio Declaration, outlining the

plan and programme for global cooperation in ensuring

sustainable development; the outcome of the Final Act of the

eighth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development (UNCTAD VIII), on the partnership for

development between the North and the South; and the

14 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

forthcoming Conference on Population and Development, as

well as the World Summit on Social Development, provide

the international community enough opportunity to promote

economic and social development and environmental

sustainability, particularly in developing countries. The work

on an agenda for development should build on all these

development-related action programmes and provide a new

impetus to development cooperation, both under United

Nations auspices and in bilateral and other multilateral

contexts. Enhancement of the role, resources and

capabilities of the organs and agencies dealing with

development in the United Nations system should be

stressed. The United Nations should also be enabled to have

a more interactive relationship with the Bretton Woods

institutions in a spirit of finding considered and innovative

solutions to global economic problems and pooling all

available resources for that purpose.

Comprehensive and constructive dialogue between the

North and the South and the strengthening of a global

partnership for development are the needs of our times if we

are to avoid the replacement of the East-West divide by a

North-South one. India has always participated in the

ongoing North-South dialogue through the Group of 77 and

the Non-Aligned Movement and in keeping with the

requirements of a more focused dialogue. India has become

part of the new group of 15 developing countries for

South-South consultation and cooperation, the G-15. We are

acting as host to the fourth summit meeting of that group at

New Delhi in December. Representing the developing

countries, we have had a promising start through an informal

dialogue with the G-7 and we hope to build on those

beginnings in a spirit of "global partnership for global

benefit", as was stated by my Prime Minister,

Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao in his message to the

G-7 Chairman.

Some key issues where there is an ongoing dialogue but

which none the less need further consideration and

implementation include: participation of developing

countries in global macroeconomic coordination and

decision-making; reciprocation by the North of the efforts of

the South at restructuring and economic liberalization

through the pursuit of expansionist policies conducive to

long-term growth and opening them up to global competition

in goods, services and manpower through reduction and

elimination of protectionist barriers; increased capital flows,

both official and private, bilateral and multilateral, to

developing countries to offset the crippling effects of the

debt burden and to accelerate growth and development; and

a balanced, successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round,

which should ensure substantial enhancement of market

access for developing-country exports and of their access to

the tool of competitiveness.

The profoundly humanistic traditions of the Indian

civilization, with its emphasis on tolerance, harmony,

non-violence and the inviolability of the individual, have

found their modern expression in the setting up of a

democratic, secular and egalitarian polity and society in free

India.

Being the largest practising democracy and effecting a

synthesis between a multiplicity of ethnic, religious and

linguistic groups and peoples has been no easy task, as some

in the West are themselves realizing even in the context of

their relatively lesser diversities. The Constitution of free

India consolidated this humanistic tradition and is indeed a

veritable bill of human rights. A strong and independent

judiciary and a totally free press have also been watchdogs

of democracy and human rights in India.

India’s commitment to the effective protection of

human rights has now received another institutional impetus

with the establishment of a National Human Rights

Commission comprised of a retired Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of India, a retired judge of the Supreme

Court of India, a former Chief Justice of the State High

Court and other eminent persons as well as the chairmen of

the three separate national commissions which already exist

to protect the interests of scheduled castes and scheduled

tribes, women and minorities. The Commission has been

mandated to inquire into allegations of violations of human

rights and has been invested with wide-ranging powers,

including the power to establish special investigation teams

to carry out effective investigations. The findings of the

Commission are to be published from time to time besides

being reflected in its annual report, which will also be laid

before Parliament. The law also provides for the

establishment of human rights commissions by the State

Governments, on the pattern of the national Commission, as

also special courts for the speedy trial of cases involving

human rights violations.

I am confident that members of the Assembly will

accept that India has established the most appropriate human

rights commission to ensure that there will be full human

rights protection in the country.

Our commitment to universally acceptable

non-discriminatory norms of human rights and their

protection and promotion cannot be questioned. It was in

that spirit that we participated actively in the World

Conference on Human Rights, which recognized the

Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 15

importance of this issue. We are however pained that not

enough emphasis is put on a major threat and impediment to

the realization of human rights, namely, terrorism, especially

the kind that is aided and abetted by one State against

another. Why is it that a few so-called human rights

advocates and Member States of the United Nations choose

to focus on the human rights of terrorists - those who

indulge in senseless murder, destruction, pillage, the

disruption of civilized existence and the undermining of

democratic institutions? Why do they virtually turn a blind

eye to the violation of the human rights of the victims of

such terrorism - innocent civilians or those upholding law

and order and the territorial integrity of States? Can they in

true conscience allow terrorists and their supporters to usurp

the moral high ground on human rights?

The United Nations will have to take strong action

against terrorists because terrorists engage in all kinds of

violence. They try to upset democratically taken decisions

in a country by using force and killing people. This must be

totally condemned by the United Nations and stopped

completely so that people can live in peace and in

democracy and express their views in accordance with the

constitution of their country.

In sum, we believe that international cooperation in the

protection of human rights can succeed only if it is within

the framework of respect for the sovereignty and integrity of

States and of a vigorous global programme for anti-terrorist

action. We would, however, like to point out that any

unilateral use of human rights as an instrument of political

pressure or intervention, or as an obstacle to trade or a

condition for development cooperation and aid, in fact serves

the opposite purpose and impedes the full realization of the

human rights of people of affected countries.

The enhanced role of the United Nations in

international affairs calls for the restructuring and redefining

of the functions of its principal organs.

The responsibilities of the Security Council have grown

dramatically in the past few years, requiring a greater degree

of participation by the overall membership of the United

Nations in the Council’s decision-making process. We must

recognize that the membership of the United Nations has

grown enormously over the years. A more balanced and

expanded representation for Member States in the Council is

therefore inevitable. Unity of purpose among its members

rather than size determines the efficiency of any

organization. The expansion should not be done selectively

or in a piecemeal manner. The principles or criteria of

expansion of the permanent and non-permanent membership

should be agreed upon by consensus. For the selection of

additional States in an expanded Council, the population -

which represents the principle of democracy and an element

of power - the size of the economy and the future potential

of the countries concerned should be taken into account,

along with equitable geographical distribution and the

contribution to the maintenance of international peace and

security. There is virtual unanimity among those who have

responded to the Secretary-General that an expansion of the

Council is imperative. Interesting suggestions have been put

forward by several countries. The logical next step would

be to start a process of consultations to arrive at a suitable

and fair formula that commands universal support.

The permanent members should be responsive to the

aspirations of developing countries represented in the

General Assembly on the basis of equality. It is therefore

essential also to revive the role of the General Assembly, as

was originally envisaged in the Charter.

We stand on a decisive threshold incomparable to any

in history, a moment in time when we must bring to bear a

larger vision and foster the forces of positive integration,

democracy and cooperation at national and international

levels.

My Prime Minister has, in characterizing the 1990s as

watershed years in global affairs in the realm of political,

economic and environmental challenges and changes,

conveyed an unequivocal message:

"We cannot go wrong if we make coexistence

and peace our watchword, and common universal

good our objective".

It is my Government’s belief that this quest for the common

good, jointly undertaken, will be central to the success of

our endeavour and for the achievement of the Charter’s

objective of harmonizing the actions of nations in the

attainment of these common ends.