India has strongly rejected Pakistan’s references to Kashmirduring the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting in Venezuela, sayingthe global forum can never be a platform for a “self-servingnarrative” that aims to undermine the territorial integrity of one nationby another State.
The NAM needs to be in the vanguard of those addressing theprimary issues of our times that cry for global cooperation, rather than becomea platform for venting bilateral grievances between members, India’s PermanentRepresentative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said Sunday in his addressto the NAM Ministerial Meeting in Caracas, Venezuela.
Akbaruddin emphasised that individual members need to ponderbefore “turning upon” fellow members by raising issues, in globalfora, which are not on the agenda, are not part of the discussions of ?theoutcome document in any manner, find no resonance in the wider membership andthose that contravene NAM traditions.
“Regrettably, one delegation attempted this yesterday.That no other member is responsive to such a self-serving narrative is atelling rejoinder that NAM never was and never can be a platform for pursuitsaimed at undermining the territorial integrity of a State by anotherState,” the Indian envoy said.
Akbaruddin did not name Pakistan but his comments were aimedat Islamabad raising the issue of Kashmir at the multi-lateral forum.
Pakistan’s Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign AffairsAndleeb Abbas, in her statement at ministerial meeting, raked up the issue ofKashmir and made references to the recent UN Human Rights report on thesituation in Jammu and Kashmir.
India has slammed the UN report as a continuation of theearlier “false and motivated” narrative and violative of India’ssovereignty and territorial integrity.
In his statement, Akbaruddin said that while terroristscontinue to “operate with great impunity and greater inhumanity,” theinternational community’s actions to combat the scourge have fallen short.
“Terrorism not only kills our citizens, but also seeksto disrupt societies by undermining our ability to attain our developmentgoals. Unfortunately, all our talk about combating the scourge of terrorism hasnot been matched by actions,” he said.
As terrorists have collapsed borders, Akbaruddin said the collectiveresponse at countering terrorism must transcend from ad hoc andcrisis-orientated reaction towards building standing structures intended to bedurable and insulated from rhetoric.
“We, as NAM countries, need to take the lead as it isour citizens that stand to lose the most from the lack of coordinated andcoherent responses,” he said.
Underscoring the serious challenges of an interdependentworld, he said threats that respect no borders confront everyone and transcendcapacities of every nation to surmount them.
“Climate Change has become a pressing emergency;environmental challenges are an urgent reality; pandemics threaten the accruedgains of global health; terrorism has expanded alarmingly; humanitariannightmares are playing out repetitively,” he said.
“We live in times when more, and not less,collaborative and cooperative efforts are needed for managing the opportunitiesand challenges that we face. Common answers to each of these global issuesrequires effective multilateralism. No amount of coercion or unilateralmeasures can resolve our primary concerns,” he said.
While the NAM has had a glorious past, Akbaruddin how theforum will be perceived in the future will be defined by how it addressed thedefining challenges of current times – “climate change, digitaltechnologies and terrorism, as well as how we reform existing multilateralinstitutions to our needs.”
“Sadly, today our inertia is considerable. Even when itis clear that collective action is required, we steer clear from action,pleading consensus is required for change,” he said.
Akbaruddin called for re-examining the methodology ofdiscussion and decision-making, saying the international community’s agendaneeds to be progressive and forward looking.
“The world is awash with new challenges. However, toeffectively make a difference, we, the NAM, need to undertake a new journey. Ajourney which needs to begin soon.”
Alluding to the words of Swami Vivekananda, Akbaruddinwarned that failure to “catch the wind” will leave everyone behindonce again.
“If we succeed, we will all stand to benefit. Together,we can revitalise our shared institutions and strengthen and reformmultilateralism, so as to maximize the prospects for a peaceful and prosperous21s?t? century for all our people.”