EAM Jaishankar Flags 'Political Domination' as a Major Global Concern

Criticising the lack of progress in the United Nations (UN) reform process, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar said on Friday that the UN has been found lacking in its aim to ensure development and socio-economic progress in the Global South.

"The slowing down of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda 2030 is a significant metric to measure the distress of the Global South. There are many more, whether it is trade measures, supply chain dependence or political domination," Jaishankar said in his keynote address at the 80th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations (UN).

The US tariff policy under the Trump administration has emerged as a major concern for India and other developing nations, which have also been seeking to de-risk the global supply chains from certain geographies.

Jaishankar said that the UN had also been found to be paying "lip service" to its role of maintaining international peace and security.

The top Indian diplomat said that all wasn't well within the UN.

"It's decision-making neither reflects its membership nor addresses global priorities. Its debates have become increasingly polarized and its working visibly gridlocked. Any meaningful reform is obstructed using the reform process itself," EAM remarked.

Further, Jaishankar said that emerging financial constraints have emerged as another concern for the UN bodies. The remarks come amid Trump administration's decisions this year to pull out of World Health Organisation (WHO), UNESCO and Paris Climate Deal as well as implement funding cuts to the tune of $500 million from the UN budget.

"How to sustain the UN even while seeking its re-invention is clearly a major challenge before all of us," the EAM said.

Significantly, the Indian Foreign Minister said that the UN response to terrorism was another major challenge.

"When a sitting Security Council member openly protects the very organization that claims responsibility for the barbaric terror attack such as at Pahalgam, what does it do to the credibility of multilateralism?", he asked, in reference to Pakistan, which managed to get a reference to The Resistance Front (TRF) omitted from the UN Security Council statement condemning the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April. Pakistan is currently a non-Permanent member of the UNSC elected for a two-year term.

Jaishankar also expressed concern over the trend of equating victims and perpetrators of terrorism.

"When self-proclaimed terrorists are shielded from the sanctioning process, what does it say for the sincerity of those involved?" Jaishankar asked, in view of vetoing of India's request to designate at least five Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)* and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)** terrorists as global terrorists.

Jaishankar, however. struck a note of optimism at the conclusion of his address.

"However difficult, the commitment to multilateralism must remain strong. However flawed, the United Nations must be supported in this time of crisis. Our faith in international cooperation must be reiterated and indeed renewed. It is in that spirit that we all meet to mark this occasion and seek to build a better world," the top diplomat said.

*UN proscribed terror group

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