UNITED NATIONS needs revamp says Indian Videsh Mantri
Dated : 16 Dec 2020 (IST)
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also said that somebody needs to press “refresh button” on the UN to reform multilateralism
Videsh Mantri Shri S Jaishankar on Monday called out the “narrow” leadership in the United Nations (UN) and asserted that there is a need to revamp the inter-governmental organisation.
He also said that there is need to press “refresh button” on the UN to reform multilateralism.
In a strong-worded speech at Global Technology Summit, S Jaishankar said, “For obvious reasons, we tend to equate multilateralism with the UN.”
“Today the UN is 75 yrs old. The problem we have today about the narrow representation at the leadership levels of the United Nations is a challenge to its credibility and effectiveness,” said the Indian Foreign Minister.
Stressing on the need to revamp the UN, Jaishankar went on to add, “You do need to reform multilateralism, you do need to make it representative, you need to refresh your phone regularly. Somebody needs to press that refresh button on the United Nations.”
It should be noted that the UN Security Council (UNSC), the decision-making body of the UN, has only five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – with veto powers.
This arrangement of power-sharing among these five nations remains unchanged since the establishment of the UN in 1945. India, Japan, Germany and Brazil have been making a serious push to make the UNSC more representative.
S Jaishankar addressed the opening session of the summit via video conference. The Global Technology Summit was organised by the Indian chapter of the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in collaboration with the Indian foreign ministry.
