A person of Indian descent, Salil Shetty, preceded Modi at the podium in the opening session of the UN summit.
Shetty, the secretary general of Amnesty International, spoke at the opening plenary session on Friday, calling for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in line with human rights obligations.
"You cannot claim to support sustainable development when you are reluctant to reduce the consumption of the rich or transfer technology," he said.
"You cannot preach about human rights while using mass surveillance. You cannot lecture about peace while being the world's largest manufacturers of arms. You cannot allow your corporations to use financial and tax loopholes while railing against corruption," Shetty declared.