At a UN Security Council debate earlier this week, India warned that the international community should be vigilant towards the dangers of unsustainable financing, which leads to a vicious cycle of debt traps.
“Peace is elusive and development a distant dream if resource crunch continues to exist. Hence, India in various fora, including in its current G20 presidency has worked towards reforms of International Financial Institutions,” Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Madhu Sudan said on November 20 at an Open Debate “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Promoting Sustaining Peace through Common Development”.
Madhu Sudan, as part of his remarks, noted that maintaining international peace and security is one of the key mandates of the UN Security Council. He added maintaining peace is weighty, nuanced and multidimensional and is not just linked to “common development.”
“Our leaders met recently to assess global progress on the SDGs and concurred that urgent measures are necessary to reverse the concerning trend of faltering on these goals. My delegation reiterates that we do not lose focus by diluting or cherry picking, in name or substance, from Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development,” Madhu Sudan added.
Global leaders met for the 2023 SDG Summit that took place in September during the high-level UN General Assembly session, beginning a new phase of accelerated progress towards the SDGs.
Further, touching upon the Global South and equity, he said, “It is reflective enough that without representation the voice of the Global South is lost and forgotten.”
SDG 16 particularly calls for peace and, in the same breath, calls for “effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”
“India believes that a UN befitting the aspirations and needs of the 21st century is only possible through a sustained, reformed multilateralism, especially through expansion of both categories of membership of the Security Council. Choosing peace, cooperation, and multilateralism is essential for building our collective future free of wars, conflicts, terrorism, space race and the threats from new and emerging technologies, amongst others,” the Indian diplomat added.
(with inputs from ANI)
