NEW YORK: Arguing that the United Nations suffered from "a democracy deficit," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday made a case for reforming the world body so as to bring it in line with the prevailing global realities.

Addressing the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly here, the Prime Minister said the United Nations' " structure and decision-making process reflect the world of 1945, not the world of 2005." He suggested that unless the organisation became "more representative of the contemporary world and more relevant to our concerns and aspirations," it would not be able to carry out its charter obligations or deliver on the Millennium Development Goals.

The Prime Minister also used his address to score a debating point with Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf. Without naming Pakistan or the general, Dr. Singh argued that "we must not yield any space to terrorism. We must firmly reject any notion that there is any cause that justifies it. No cause could ever justify the indiscriminate killing of innocent men, women and children."

Cross-border terrorism

He added that for years cross-border terrorism had been directed against India's "unity and territorial integrity" but "we shall never succumb to or compromise with terror, in Jammu and Kashmir or elsewhere."

[On Wednesday, in his address to the United Nations, Gen. Musharraf observed that "we need to understand and address the motives behind terrorist acts.

These may not justify terrorism; but they explain it. To eliminate terrorist violence, we will need to eliminate it in the minds of potential terrorists. No religion sanctions terrorism; the motives of terrorists, however misguided, are always political."]

Millennium Development Goals

Dr. Singh regretted that the rich nations were unwilling to help find resources to pursue Millennium Development Goals. "We find that the international community is generous in setting goals, but parsimonious in pursuing them. We must make greater efforts to mobilise the resources necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals."

Pointing out that the developing countries had to cope with the challenge of political, economic and social change, that too in a context of rising expectations and growing disparities, Dr. Singh argued that there was the need to make the "international environment conducive to meeting our developmental aspirations." This was the yardstick by which the success or failure of globalisation would be determined.

"New Deal" awaited

The Prime Minister also made a case for "multilateral rules governing the flow of goods, services and capital" in a manner as to take care of the developing world's needs. "The world awaits a "New Deal" that can spur development and create jobs on a global scale," he added.

According to Dr. Singh, the way the world conducted its affairs ought to be reorganised. "We need collective thinking and coordinated action to deal with the challenge of ensuring energy security even while we address the consequences of climate change," he pointed out. Global problems such as HIV/AIDS, nuclear proliferation and the promotion of global non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament needed to be addressed globally.

Quoting Nehru's 1947 observation that peace, freedom, and prosperity were global pursuits, the Prime Minister concluded by suggesting that globalisation could become an opportunity to redesign the world order in a more equitable manner. "Globalisation offers exciting opportunities for improving living standards world-wide, provided the weak and the powerless are empowered by education and health to become genuine partners in progress. The world community must muster the courage to harness the potential of globalisation for the benefit of mankind," he added.

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