Jaishankar: The UN must be a space for compromise

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Statement by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Indian Foreign Minister, in the context of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly

Transcript

00:00No one behind.

00:05Madam President, we are gathered here at a difficult time.

00:12The world is yet to recover from the ravages of the COVID pandemic.

00:18A war in Ukraine is well into its third year.

00:24The conflict in Gaza is acquiring wider ramifications.

00:31Across the Global South, development plans have gone off-rails and SDG targets are receding.

00:41But there is more.

00:44Unfair trade practices threaten jobs, just as unviable projects raise debt levels.

00:52Any connectivity that flouts sovereignty and territorial integrity acquires strategic

00:59connotations, especially when it is not a shared endeavor.

01:06Technology advancements, which have long been a source of hope, are now equally a factor

01:13of anxiety.

01:15Climate events occur with greater intensity and frequency.

01:21Food security is as worrisome as health security.

01:27In truth, the world stands fractious, polarized and frustrated.

01:35Conversations have become difficult, agreements even more so.

01:40This is surely not what the founders of the United Nations would have wanted of us.

01:48Madam President, almost exactly eight decades ago, the first steps towards the formation

01:55of the UN were taken near here at Dumbarton Oaks.

02:00Refined thereafter at the Yalta Conference, they were finally approved in San Francisco.

02:08The debates of that era centered around how to ensure world peace, a prerequisite for

02:16global prosperity.

02:18Today, we find both peace and prosperity equally endangered.

02:27And that, Madam President, is because trust has eroded and processes have broken down.

02:35Countries have extracted more from the international system than they have put into it, enfeebling

02:41it in the process.

02:44We see that vividly in every challenge and every crisis.

02:50Reforming multilateralism is therefore an impediment.

02:56The urgency of this call is highlighted by the theme of this session, leaving no one

03:02behind means advancing peace, ensuring sustainable development and strengthening human dignity.

03:11Peace cannot be delivered by a UN parallelized and faced with division, conflict, terrorism

03:20and violence, nor can it be advanced if access to food, fuel and fertilizer is jeopardized.

03:30When capturing markets lacks restraint, it damages the livelihood and social fabric of

03:36others.

03:37Evasion of climate action responsibilities by the developed undermines the growth prospect

03:44of the developing.

03:46Indeed, when resource crunch limits the very pursuit of SDG targets, it is not just economies

03:55but human dignity itself that is impeded.

03:59If the world is in such a state, this body must ask itself, how has this come to pass?

04:09The problems arise from a combination of structural shortcomings, political calculations, naked

04:18self-interest and, yes, disregard for those left behind.

04:25It is natural to feel overwhelmed by what we confront now.

04:32After all, there are so many dimensions, different moving parts, issues of the day and the changing

04:40landscape.

04:43But every change must begin somewhere and there is no better place than where it all

04:49started.

04:51We, the members of the United Nations, must now seriously and purposefully address ourselves

05:00to that task.

05:03Not because it is a competition for influence or a squabble for positions, but because if

05:10we carry on like this, the state of the world is only going to get worse.

05:16And that could mean that more of us are going to be left behind.

05:22Madam President, as the world contemplates these concerns, India has sought to respond

05:28in a variety of ways.

05:31First, by focusing on the issues of the vulnerable, women, farmers and youth.

05:39And fashioning targeted policies and initiatives for their betterment.

05:45Assured access to piped water, to electricity, to cooking gas and new homes are changing

05:53millions of lives.

05:56The gender gap has started to close, be it in health, in education or in the workplace.

06:04Our food producers, thrice a year, get financial support at the click of a button.

06:12And a third-term government has made skilling of the youth its key priority.

06:18Second, by expanding opportunities for employment and for entrepreneurship, including through

06:26stronger training and large-scale financial incentives.

06:32Four hundred and ninety-five mudra loans, four hundred and ninety-five million mudra

06:36loans, have been given to small businesses in the last decade.

06:42Sixty-seven percent of them are to women.

06:46Equally telling, 6.56 million street vendors have availed of 8.85 million Swanidhi loans.

06:56This is just in the last four years.

06:58Forty-five percent of the beneficiaries are again women.

07:03Third, by creating templates that are applicable elsewhere, it could be digital delivery or

07:11enhancing the quality of governance and public services, as indeed making medicines and

07:18health facilities accessible and affordable.

07:24A digital public infrastructure and a people's pharmacy are today examples of what India

07:31can readily offer to the world.

07:34It is also an alternative vision where technology is used to empower, not to dominate.

07:42Fourth, by encouraging the global south to voice its shared concerns and come together.

07:51To that end, we have convened three Global South Summits, the most recent in August of

07:572024.

07:59And fifth, by contributing to the well-being of the global commons and responding to the

08:05pressing needs of those in distress.

08:10This has ranged from undertaking projects in 78 nations, providing resources to neighbors

08:18and responding to HADR situations, to supplying medicines and ensuring maritime safety and

08:25security.

08:29Madam President, given the scale of transformation underway in India, each of these dimensions

08:36underline that the world's problems can indeed be tackled, and that by working together,

08:44we can surely create a larger lifting tide.

08:49In these troubled times, it is necessary, Madam President, to provide hope and rekindle

08:56optimism.

08:58We have to demonstrate that big changes are possible, and not over a long period.

09:06And nothing is more powerful in this regard than the transformative potential of the digital.

09:14We have seen its impact in our daily lives in India over the last decade.

09:20It is visible when public benefits, from nutritional support and housing to energy and health,

09:27are delivered efficiently and on a vast scale, or when small business loans and farmers'

09:35support are extended without using intermediaries.

09:41In fact, when street vendors and expat workforce confidently use fintech in their regular transactions,

09:51when services delivery and benefits move seamlessly and transparently, less people

09:59will be left behind.

10:01That, Madam President, is India's experience and India's relevance.

10:08Such leapfrogging possibilities, coupled with people-centric policies and visionary leadership,

10:15can be real game-changers.

10:19When India lands on the moon, rolls out its own 5G stack, dispatches vaccines worldwide,

10:28embraces fintech, or houses so many global capability centres, there is a message here.

10:38Our quest for a vixit Bharat, or a developed India, will understandably be followed closely.

10:47Madam President, an important cause of many getting left behind has been the unfairness

10:55of the current globalisation model.

10:58Over-concentration of production has hollowed out many economies, impacting their employment

11:06and social stability.

11:10Democratising global production, building resilient supply chains, ensuring trusted

11:16digital services, and espousing an open-source culture all promote widespread prosperity.

11:25There are economic answers, just as there are social ones.

11:30Madam President, the UN has always maintained that peace and development go hand in hand.

11:39Yet, when challenges to one have emerged, due regard has not been given to the other.

11:47Clearly, their economic implications for the weak and vulnerable need to be highlighted.

11:55But we must also recognise that conflicts themselves must be resolved.

12:01The world cannot be fatalistic about the continuation of violence on a large scale.

12:08No more than be impervious to its broader consequences.

12:14Whether it is the war in Ukraine or the conflict in Gaza, the international community seeks

12:21urgent solutions.

12:24These sentiments must be acknowledged and acted upon.

12:29Madam President, the UN is a testimony to the agreed principles and shared objectives

12:37of the world order.

12:39Respect for international law and commitments are among the foremost in that regard.

12:46If we are to ensure global security and stability, then it is essential that those who seek to

12:53lead set the right example.

12:57Nor can we countenance egregious violations of our basic tenets.

13:06International law is antithetical of everything that the world stands for.

13:12All its forms and manifestations must be resolutely opposed.

13:17The sanctioning of global terrorists by the United Nations should also not be impeded

13:24for political reasons.

13:27Madam President, many countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control.

13:36But some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences.

13:43A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan.

13:49Unfortunately, their misdeeds affect others as well, especially the neighbourhood.

13:57And this polity instils such fanaticism among its people.

14:02Its GDP can only be measured in terms of radicalisation and its exports in the form of terrorism.

14:11Today, we see the ills it sought to visit on others consume its own society.

14:20It cannot blame the world.

14:22This is only karma.

14:25Madam President, a dysfunctional nation coveting the lands of others must be exposed and must

14:33be countered.

14:35We heard some bizarre assertions from it at this very forum yesterday.

14:43So let me make India's position perfectly clear.

14:47Pakistan's cross-border terrorism policy will never succeed.

14:53And it can have no expectation of impunity.

14:58On the contrary, actions will certainly have consequences.

15:04The issue to be resolved between us is now only the vocation of illegally occupied Indian

15:11territory by Pakistan.

15:14And of course, the abandonment of Pakistan's long-standing attachment to terrorism.

15:23Madam President, the global order is inherently pluralistic and diverse.

15:29The UN began with 51 members.

15:32We are now 193.

15:35The world has changed profoundly and so have its concerns and its opportunities.

15:41But to address both, and indeed to strengthen the order itself, it is essential that the

15:48UN be the central platform for finding common ground.

15:53And that it certainly cannot be by remaining anachronistic.

15:58Large parts of the world cannot be left behind when it comes to deciding the key issues of

16:04our times.

16:06An effective and efficient UN, a more representative UN, and a UN fit for purpose in the contemporary

16:14era is essential.

16:17Let us therefore send out a clear message from this UNGA session.

16:23We are determined not to be left behind.

16:27By coming together, sharing experiences, pooling resources, and strengthening our resolve,

16:34we can change the world for the better.

16:37I thank you, Madam President.

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