Knock on effects of conflict situations suggests it is not business as usual: Jaishankar

New Delhi, Dec 15: On the challenge of terrorism when the world is coming together with a more collective response, multilateral platforms are being misused to justify and protect perpetrators, External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar said.

Presiding over the UN Security Council open debate on 'Maintenance of International Peace and Security: New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism', Jaishankar said the knock on effects of conflict situations have made a strong case that it cannot be business as usual.

The minister's remarks appeared to be a reference to repeated holds and blocks to blacklist terrorists, particularly those who are based in Pakistan such as Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar in the UN security Council's sanctions committee by veto welding permanent members such as China.

Jaishankar said while addressing the 15-nation council that reform is the need of the day. I am confident that the Global South especially shares India's determination to persevere, he added.

"All of us are aware that the 'Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council' has been on the UNGA agenda for well over the last three decades. While the debate on reforms has meandered aimlessly, the real world meantime has changed dramatically," Jaishankar said.

We have convened here today for an honest conversation about the effectiveness of multilateral institutions created more than 75 years back. The question is how best they can be reformed especially as the need to reform is less deniable with each passing year, the Foreign Minister said.

Jaishankar said that the call for change has been accelerated by growing stresses on the international system that the world has experienced in recent years.

"On the one hand, they have brought out the inequities and inadequacies of the way the world currently functions. On the other, they have also highlighted that a larger and deeper collaboration is necessary to find solutions," he added.

He said that the knock on effects of conflict situations have also underscored the necessity for more broad based global governance.

In an apparent reference to the Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said that recent concerns over food, fertiliser and fuel security were not articulated in the highest councils of decision making. Much of the world was therefore led to believe that their interests did not matter. We cannot let that happen again, the minister said.

"When it comes to climate action and climate justice, the state of affairs is no better. Instead of addressing the relevant issues in the appropriate forum, we have seen attempts at distraction and diversion," he added.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jaishankar said that many vulnerable nations of the Global South got their first vaccines from beyond their traditional sources. Indeed, the diversification of the global production was itself a recognition of how much the old order had changed, he said.

He also emphasised that member states from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Small Island Developing States have credible and continuing representation in the Security Council.

"Decisions about their future can no longer be taken without their participation. Equally important is to make working methods and processes of the global institutions, including this Council, more accountable, objective and transparent. Failing to do so would only lend this Council to charges of politicisation," he added.

He also noted that at every milestone in multilateral diplomacy, the sentiment for reform has been expressed at the highest levels. He questioned the international community for failing to deliver on such a strong desire for change.

The answer lies in the nature of the IGN process itself he said while referring to the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on the UN Security Council.

One, it is the only one in the UN that is conducted without any time frame. Two, it is also singular in being negotiated without any text. And three, there is no record keeping that allows progress to be recognised and carried forward. Not just that. There are actually suggestions that negotiations start only when consensus has been achieved. Surely, we cannot have a more extreme case of putting the cart before the horse,"he added.