New York, September 15
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared here today India would not succumb to or compromise with terror in Jammu and Kashmir or elsewhere and emphasised that democratic governance within nations and in global institutions would also constitute a powerful weapon in meeting the global scourge of terrorism.
“We must not yield any space to terrorism. We must firmly reject any notion that there is any cause that
justifies it. No cause could ever justify the indiscriminate killing of innocent men, women and children. India has faced-cross border terrorism directed against its unity and territorial integrity. We shall never succumb or compromise with terror,” Dr Singh said addressing the United Nations General Assembly marking its 60th year.
Commending the international community for being generous in setting goals, Dr Singh regrettably found it “parsimonious in pursuing them.” He described as a wise investment for the future to mobilise the resources necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals. “Failure will only make our task in the future much more difficult and costlier when the world awaits a new deal that can spur development and create jobs on a global scale.”
Drawing pointed attention to the dual challenge faced by the developing world of managing political and social change coupled with meeting developmental aspirations, Dr Singh warned that these challenges were interlinked to the globalised world and success or failure in this double quest would have global consequences.
Stressing that the UN required urgent and comprehensive reforms, Dr Singh noted that the management of global interdependence required strong international institutions and a rule-based multilateral system.
“The reform of the UN must be based on this principle. It must include the expansion of the UN Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. Unfortunately, the UN suffers from a democracy deficit. Its structure and decision-making process reflect the world of 1945, not of 2005.”
Dr Singh said unless the UN became an organisation more representative of the contemporary world and more
relevant to “our concerns and aspirations, its ability to deliver on the
Millennium Development Goals, indeed in its charter obligations, will continue to be limited.”
The Prime Minister said just as in a democracy where the rule of law and transparency ensured that the interests of the ordinary citizen were upheld, at the global level too “we need to ensure that multilateral rules governing the flow of goods, services and capital take adequate account of the needs of developing countries.”
He called for addressing the challenge of eradicating mass poverty and pandemics like HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases.
“We need collective thinking and coordinated action to deal with the challenge of ensuring energy security even while we address the consequences of climate change. We must renew our efforts to secure the world against nuclear proliferation and to promote global nuclear disarmament. Failure to meet global challenges in a timely fashion can only turn them into unmitigated disasters eventually,” the Prime Minister cautioned.
