PM Speech at United Nations General Assembly

• 28 Sep 2021

Why in News

Recently, the Prime Minister of India (PM) addressed the 76^th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

• The UNGA’s theme for this year is “Building Resilience through hope to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations".
• The PM spoke about a range of topics from the Covid-19 pandemic, threat of terrorism, India's actions to combat climate change and the need to protect the freedom of navigation in the oceans.

United Nations General Assembly

• The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN.
• All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.
• Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and general debate, which many heads of state attend and address.
• Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.
  
  • Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.
• The President of the General Assembly is elected each year by assembly to serve a one-year term of office.
  
  • Recently, the Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid was elected the President of the 76^th session of the UNGA for 2021-22
  • The UNGA has also appointed Antonio Guterres as the ninth UN Secretary General (UNSG) for a second term beginning 1^st January, 2022 and ending on 31^st December, 2026.

Key Points

• Threat of Terrorism: The world is facing an increased threat of regressive thinking and extremism and many countries is using “terrorism as a political tool”.
  
  • He also emphasised to abide by UNSC Resolution 2593.
  • The resolution demands that Afghan territory must never again be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists.
• Importance of India: Today every sixth person in the world is an Indian. Thus, when Indians progress, it accelerates the development of the world.
  
  • He regarded India as ‘Mother of Democracy’ and through democracy many socio-economic problems can be resolved.
• Developmental Model of India: Citing the Deen Dayal Upadhaya’s Integral Humanism, India’s developmental model envisages an all-inclusive, all-pervasive, and universal approach. For example:
  
  • Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Jan Dhan Accounts have deepened the financial inclusion.
  • PM Jan Aarogya Yojana has provided the facility of free treatment in hospitals to over 500 million people and has given them access to quality health services.
  • Under PM Awas Yojana, nearly 30 million proper homes are being built for many homeless families.
  • Jal Jeevan Mission envisages to ensure that piped clean water reaches over 170 million homes.
• Tackling Covid-19: India has developed the world’s first DNA vaccine. This can be administered to anyone above the age of 12.
  
  • An mRNA vaccine is in the final stages of development.
  • Indian scientists are also developing a nasal vaccine against Covid-19.
• Balancing Economy and Ecology: India is progressing towards the goal of 450 gigawatts of renewable energy.
  
  • Also, India is set to be the world’s biggest green hydrogen hub.
• Ensuring Freedom of Navigation: Highlighting China’s expansionism in the Indo-Pacific, PM held that oceans are the lifeline of international trade and must be protected from the race of expansion and exclusion.
  
  • In this context, the broad consensus reached in the Security Council during India’s presidency shows to the world the way forward for maritime security.

Source: IE