India Calls for Major UN Reforms to Address Global Crises

UN Reforms Latest News

• India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. 
• During this speech, he emphasised that the UN must be reformed and member states — led by active Global South contributors like India — must strengthen cooperation, confront terrorism, and restore multilateral credibility to meet 21st-century challenges.

UN General Assembly

• The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations.
• All 193 UN member states are members (each with one vote). The Holy See and Palestine are permanent observers.
• It provides a global forum for multilateral discussion of international issues — peace & security, development, human rights, international law, budgetary and administrative matters.

Working

• It holds an annual Regular Session (High-Level Week in September) plus Special and Emergency Special Sessions when required.
• Structure: Six Main Committees handle substantive work:
  • Disarmament & International Security
  • Economic & Financial
  • Social, Humanitarian & Cultural
  • Special Political & Decolonization
  • Administrative & Budgetary
  • Legal
• President & Bureau: A President (elected for one year) chairs sessions and sets procedural priorities; elected from different regional groups on rotation.

Decision-Making & Voting

• Important questions (admission of members, budget, peace & security recommendations) normally require a two-thirds majority.
• Other questions require a simple majority.
• Nature of GA decisions: Most resolutions and declarations are non-binding politically influential instruments; binding enforcement is typically the Security Council’s domain.

Key Powers & Functions

• Approve the UN budget and apportion member contributions.
• Elect non-permanent members of the Security Council, members of other UN bodies and the judges of the ICJ (in conjunction with the Security Council).
• Recommend appointment of the Secretary-General to the Security Council.
• Create subsidiary organs and specialised agencies; convene world conferences.

Key Achievements & Historical Impact

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948): Adopted by UNGA — foundational text in international human rights.
• Decolonization: Adopted the 1960 Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and guided a major wave of decolonization through UN support and membership expansion.
• Development agendas: Endorsed the Millennium Declaration (MDGs) and later the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs (2015) — global compacts for development.

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The General Debate

• The general debate is part of the General Assembly session and is held at the beginning of each regular session in September.
• Purpose: Heads of state/government and ministers present national views and priorities and respond to global issues under a chosen theme.
• Speaking order & practice: Traditionally Brazil speaks first, then the United States, followed by other states in order of request and protocol.
• Theme of 80th session – Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.
• Presidency of 80th session – Annalena Baerbock of Germany is the President of 80th UNGA being held in New York.

EAM Jaishankar at the UN — Key Points & Takeaways

• EAM argued that the UN’s founding Charter calls for peace and human dignity, but the state of the world shows the organisation struggling to deliver.
• He said that the global problems (conflict, climate, development, trade, terrorism) make a compelling case for more international cooperation — and urgent reform of multilateral institutions.

State of the world — Where the UN is Falling Short

• Major conflicts: Cited Ukraine and the Middle East as evidence that the UN’s conflict-resolution role is under strain.
• Development shortfalls: Slow progress on the Sustainable Development Goals; resources and delivery lag.
• Climate credibility at risk: “If climate action itself is questioned, what hope is there for climate justice?” — concern over hollow commitments and creative accounting.
• Economic friction: Rising tariff volatility, technology controls, supply-chain grip, and restricted labour mobility undermine open trade and require multilateral responses.

Terrorism — An Urgent, Shared Threat

• Terrorism synthesises bigotry, violence, intolerance and fear and remains a priority.
• India’s experience: living next to a state that is a centre for global terrorism underlines the urgency.
• Required measures: choke terrorism financing, sanction prominent terrorists, and deepen international cooperation against sponsors and sympathisers.

UN Credibility & The Need for Reform

• The UN is “in a state of crisis”: gridlock has reduced its ability to build common ground and weakened belief in multilateralism.
• Security Council reform is essential — expand both permanent and non-permanent membership to reflect contemporary realities.

India and the Global South — Readiness to Lead

• India stands ready to assume greater responsibilities, and the Global South must contribute more actively.
• Cited India’s international role: development projects, crisis response, safe commerce, and security assistance.
• Call for countries that can engage all sides (e.g., in Ukraine and the Middle East) to step up mediation and search for solutions.

Principles for Action — Cooperation, Empathy, Common Purpose

• International cooperation must prevail; islands of prosperity cannot flourish in an ocean of turbulence.
• A functioning world order requires common purpose and empathy — the UN should be the forum to enable that.
• Reforming multilateralism is presented as the obvious, necessary path forward.

Source: TH | UN | UNGA