Where is United Nations in fight against Covid-19, asks PM Narendra Modi

This is the first time New Delhi has candidly raised questions about UN’s inadequate response to the pandemic

Questioning the lack of effective response from the United Nations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed that complete reform of the international organization and its way of functioning is the need of the hour.

Modi said that India would let the entire humanity benefit from its own vaccine production and delivery capability and would thus help the world come out from the pandemic. He also questioned how long India, the world's largest democracy, would be kept out of the UN Security Council.

“The whole world is fighting the global coronavirus pandemic for the last eight-nine months. Where is the United Nations in this joint fight against the pandemic? Where is its effective response?” the Prime Minister said, virtually addressing the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations.

This is the first time New Delhi has candidly raised questions about the UN’s inadequate response to the pandemic and its social and economic consequences for the world.

Read: PM Modi pledges to use India's vaccine production capacity to help 'all humanity' fight coronavirus

US President Donald Trump’s administration has been blaming the World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency of the UN, for the failure to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus around the world after it was first reported in China. New Delhi, however, so far refrained from criticizing the WHO.

Modi said that India is moving ahead with Phase III clinical trial of the Covid-19 vaccine. He also promised that India would help all the countries in enhancing their cold chain and storage capacities for the delivery of the coronavirus vaccines.

The Prime Minister said that the world has significantly changed since the UN had come into existence in 1945.

“If century changes and we do not, then strength to bring changes becomes weak. If we assess the last 75 years of the United Nations, we see several achievements. But, at the same time, there are also several instances that point to a serious need for introspection for the United Nations,” said Modi.

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He said that third world war had been averted so far, but then again, several wars and many civil wars had taken place. Several terrorist attacks had shaken the world causing bloodsheds. “The people who had lost lives in the wars and attacks had been human beings, like you and me. Thousands of children, who would have otherwise enriched this world, left us prematurely. So many people lost their life savings and became homeless refugees,” he said, questioning: Were the efforts of the UN sufficient during those times or are these efforts adequate even today?” he asked.

The Prime Minister said that reform in the responses, in the processes and in the character of the UN was the need of the hour. “The faith and respect that the UN enjoys in India are unparalleled. But it is also true that the people of India have been waiting for a long time for the completion of the reforms of the UN,” he said in his virtual address to the General Assembly. He went on to say that people of India are now concerned whether the reform-process would ever reach its logical conclusion.

“For how long will India be kept out of the decision-making structures of the United Nations? A country, which is the largest democracy of the world, a country with more than 18% of the world population, a country, which has hundreds of languages, hundreds of dialects, many sects, many ideologies, a country, which was a leading global economy for centuries and also one which has seen hundreds of years of foreign rule,” said the Prime Minister.