Lucknow: The United Nations could have played a “much stronger” role in global conflicts such as Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia, and in humanitarian crises unfolding in Sudan, Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said, while stressing that today’s world needs a new UN and international order.
He was addressing the International Conference of Chief Justices of the World organised by the private City Montessori School in his parliamentary constituency of Lucknow. He said that today, conflicts are ongoing in several parts of the world — the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Ukraine-Russia war and humanitarian crises unfolding in Sudan and many regions of Africa.
“Amid all this, we could have expected to see a much stronger role of the United Nations. We are not seeing that, but we could have,” he remarked.
Singh asserted that this does not mean any lack of intent on the part of the United Nations; rather, it stems from the complexities of global politics, the influence exerted by major powers, and the slow pace of institutional processes.
“These factors have often raised questions about the UN’s authority,” he said and criticised major powers for selectively applying UN rules and limited resources, saying weakened institutions cannot deliver results.
“This situation can change only when we bring the United Nations back to its core objectives — peace, justice, and equal representation — as originally envisioned,” he said.
“I firmly believe that today’s new world requires a new United Nations,” the Defence minister stressed. He, however, clarified also that by “new United Nations” he does not mean creating a fresh institution, but revitalising the existing body.
Singh said he believed that any institution, organisation or even an idea is a product of its own time and pointed out that the period after the Second World War was very transformative, as many modern nations were born, which were under colonial rule earlier.
“In these circumstances, establishing a new international order became the need of the time,” he said, acknowledging that the United Nations successfully achieved its immediate objectives. But Singh reiterated that when circumstances change, reforms become inevitable.
Over the last 25 years, the world has undergone significant changes, the Defence minister said and added that the coexistence of prosperity and instability on such a scale is unprecedented, making it clear that the “international order needs to be reconsidered.”
India’s stand on reforms, he said, is very clear and has been presented at various global forums. “The India of 75 or 80 years ago is not the India of today. As India grows more dynamic, international institutions must also become dynamic. Without dynamism, neither a nation nor an organisation can sustain. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to reorient these institutions,” he said.