India decries 'undemocratic' global governance

India today said persisting "undemocratic systems" of international governance are creating hindrances for effective participation of developing countries in global decision-making processes, as it expressed disappointment that its repeated calls for a conducive environment has met with resistance.
"The global development divide of today can trace its origins in an array of historical injustices that have somehow never completely disappeared from the equation," Permanent Representative of India to the UN in Geneva Ajit Kumar said at a session of the Working Group on the Right To Development.
Kumar said the global divide is "evident" today in the "persisting undemocratic systems" of international governance where effective participation of developing countries in international decision-making is paved with all kinds of obstacles.

"In this regard, our repeated calls for a conducive international environment as well attempts towards greater acceptance and operationalisation of the right to development at the international level have only yielded disappointment and resistance," he said.
Kumar called for "strong political will" and "genuine commitment" of the international community to make the right to development a "working reality".
Kumar stressed that the challenge of guaranteeing human rights becomes nearly impossible to tackle in the face of unmet human needs.

"There seems to be a tacit acknowledgement of this fact in the plethora of internationally agreed declarations, resolutions, decisions and norms on the issue of right to development, however, when it comes to allocation of adequate time and resources to this issue, our collective endeavour at the various UN fora leaves much to be desired," he said.

The deliberations in all multilateral fora as well decades of experience of the ground realities have established that any lasting progress towards fulfilling the right to development require equitable economic relations and a favourable economic environment at the international level, apart from the national level policies.
(Reopens FGN6)
Lamenting the UN had not been able to push forward with the reforms, Brazil's envoy to the UN Antonio de Aguiar Patriota - speaking on behalf of the G4 nations of Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan - had said "there was huge expectation that time had arrived for us to move into concrete negotiations, It is unfortunate that the 70th anniversary of the UN was not able to build up momentum with a view to reaching an agreement on this important item."

For his visits to India and China, Thomson will be accompanied by the Office of the President of the General Assembly's Chef de Cabinet Ambassador Tomas Anker Christensen and Senior Adviser Meena Syed.
Thomson will replace current General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft.
Following his election, Thomson had noted that the Assembly's 71st session would bring momentum to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and serve to achieve progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).