New Delhi and the pursuit of reformed multilateralism

India’s support to the nations of the developing world was reinforced during the country’s stint as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. (Reuters)
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Updated 15 August 2024
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New Delhi and the pursuit of reformed multilateralism

Multilateralism is in crisis. With every turn of events, multilateral systems and international organizations are being debilitated, almost always at the expense of the Global South.

The UN stands paralyzed. Even as, on the one hand, international laws and agreements are adopted to strengthen the rules-based international order, on the other hand they are being violated with impunity and without accountability.

But the problem runs much deeper. A majority of developing countries have become bystanders in the unraveling of the world order. The only insurance they have against this, universal participation in decision-making processes, is vanishing. Instead, they are presented with two differing, even opposing, worldviews to which they are asked to subscribe.

Almost all of the current problems, whether within the UN, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, can be traced back to the inability of the multilateral system to accommodate new and emerging powers in the post-Second World War architecture.

Multilateralism is caught between those who fight to preserve the status-quo that existed in 1945 and those who demand reforms to reflect the current realities, which are more multipolar.

India has been the biggest advocate of a strengthening of multilateralism over the years. In our changed world, if the most populous country, with the fifth-largest economy, a track record of multilateralism, democracy and a civilizational ethos of humanity, cannot be given its due in terms of global governance, there is clearly a need for reform.

In fact, during the 10th annual summit of the BRICS group of developing nations nations, in 2018 in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed for the first time his vision for a “reformed multilateralism” that would give major emerging powers a voice in global governance.

India’s track record in the recent past, including its two-year stint as a member of the UN Security Council in 2021 and 2022, reveals numerous examples, if examples were needed, of how we have bridged or overcome differences to build a more inclusive multilateral world.

Accosted by global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, terrorism, and the digital and AI divide, and the sprouting of conflicts that threaten international peace and security, India has become indispensable in the efforts to find solutions.

Lest we forget, when the world was reeling during the pandemic, and many countries were hoarding vaccines for themselves, India stepped forward to produce and distribute vaccines. In our Vaccine Maitri initiative, we prioritized supplies for smaller and more vulnerable countries and saved numerous lives.

In December 2021, as a member of the Security Council, we successfully thwarted a move to wrest climate change policy away from the inclusive process led by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in which all countries are represented, and bring it under the control of the Security Council, which effectively would have placed climate action at the mercy of its five permanent members (the US, UK, Russia, China and France), who are historically the major polluters.

India underscored the fact that this draft resolution sought “to hand over that responsibility to a body which neither works through consensus nor is reflective of the interests of the developing countries.”

The draft was defeated by a vote in which India voted against it and Russia, as a permanent member, exercised its power of veto. Had the resolution succeeded, climate change architecture by now would have marginalized the voices of the Global South, especially those of the most vulnerable among them, including Small Island Developing States.

India yet again took a stand on the side of inclusivity and multilateralism when it played an instrumental role in the setting up in 2015 of the International Solar Alliance, which now has more than 100 member countries.

The G20 is an influential plurilateral group, the members of which are major economies that make decisions on global economic and developmental issues that affect all other countries as well. However, a glaring lacuna was that it did not fully represent the smaller and medium-sized states of the Global South.

To bridge this gap, when India held the presidency pf the G20 in 2022-23, Modi convened the Voice of Global South Summit, in which 125 developing countries took part. The outcomes of the summit were channeled into G20 discussions during India’s presidency, to ensure that the group took informed and inclusive decisions to benefit the vast majority.

In addition, India lobbied for African Union membership of the G20 and inducted it into the organization, which was a huge step for a continent that had not been adequately represented in the G20, Security Council or other international bodies.

Needless to say, India has been at the forefront of efforts to reform the Security Council. Dealing with conflicts is the business of council members — but the inability to deal with them has become its hallmark.

When the UN was established, there were 51 member states. Now we have 193 but we still have only five permanent members of the Security Council, who are polarized and have paralyzed its decision-making.

The days when a small group of countries get to decide what the entire world should do are over. The logical ultimate fall-out from an unreformed Security Council is the emergence of other power centers to challenge it, leading to fragmentation of the world order.

Unless there is legitimate, representative and permanent representation of the Global South, especially that of the largest country, India, and Africa, a continent of 54 nations, we cannot have meaningful decisions made by the council.

Our support to the nations of the developing world was reinforced during India’s stint as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, during which we stood for their territorial integrity; increased humanitarian assistance; the correcting of historical injustices; reforms; development partnerships; the fight against terror; and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

However, it was India’s independent and proactive stance during the war in Ukraine that acted as a catalyst in helping other developing countries voice their dissatisfaction with the pursuit of a military solution to the conflict, and instead call for diplomacy and dialogue, even in the midst of intense fighting and high emotions when all levers were being weaponized.

This was India saying, in effect, that we do not have to choose sides between warring blocs, however big or important they might be. This was India saying that we stand for another worldview that seeks the path of dialogue over war, seeks an inclusive world over polarization and fragmentation, seeks independence of policymaking over the coercion of small and medium-sized states in their decision-making, seeks territorial integrity over occupation, and seeks reformed multilateralism over the status quo or unilateralism.

• T.S. Tirumurti is a former Indian ambassador and a professor at IIT Madras.


India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades

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India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades

  • Sole flight survivor Ramesh Viswashkumar a British national of Indian origin, is being treated at a hospital, airline confirms
  • London-bound Dreamliner with 242 people on board also killed dozens more when it crashed into a medical college hostel

NEW DELHI, India: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers. 

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, also killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel located just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon. 

The sole survivor, a British national of Indian origin, is being treated in a hospital, the airline confirmed. 

“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat. 

The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian. 

The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane’s wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off. 

Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses. 

Those killed on board include a family who was visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who is moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat. 

Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, which were mostly charred beyond recognition, as relatives take part and wait for officials to release the remains. 

Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers. 

“Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,” Khatika told Arab News. 

“It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don’t know how to react.” 

Many Indians have also taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in. 

In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people perished as they were caught in the path of the plane crash. 

Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and two-year-old daughter, who had been on the side of the building where the plane had crashed, were missing. 

“Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,” Ravi told Arab News. 

“We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.” 

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation headed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched. 

Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts.

India, the world’s third-largest aviation market, has endured several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing around 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard. 


Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach

Updated 31 min 1 sec ago
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Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach

ATLANTA: A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to overhaul elections in the US, siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional.
The Republican president’s March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Day and condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new ballot deadline.
The group of attorneys general said the directive “usurps the States’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.” The White House has defended the order as “standing up for free, fair and honest elections” and called proof of citizenship a “commonsense” requirement.


Hong Kong rights group shuts down after years of advocating for workers

Updated 57 min 17 sec ago
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Hong Kong rights group shuts down after years of advocating for workers

  • Founded in 1994, organization maintained a database tracking workers’ strikes, protests, workplace accidents and other labor rights incidents in China

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong group that advocated for workers rights for decades announced its shutdown abruptly on Thursday, citing financial difficulties and debt issues.
China Labor Bulletin planned to stop updating its website content and appeared to have deleted Facebook and Instagram social media accounts used by the nonprofit rights organization.
“The company can no longer maintain operations and has decided to dissolve and initiate the relevant procedures,” it said in a statement on an archived web page Friday.
Founded in 1994, organization maintained a database tracking workers’ strikes, protests, workplace accidents and other labor rights incidents in China.
As dozens of civil society groups disbanded or left Hong Kong in the wake of the 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law, China Labor Bulletin continued providing valuable resources for journalists and academics in the southern Chinese city.
Critics say the drastic political changes in Hong Kong indicated the decline of Western-style civil liberties that China promised to keep intact when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. However, Beijing and Hong Kong governments insisted the law was crucial to bring stability to the city following massive anti-government protests in 2019.
China Labor Bulletin’s founder Han Dongfang, a former railway worker who participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. He told the Central News Agency of Taiwan that the shutdown was his decision and he would stay in Hong Kong.
Han’s decision appeared sudden to many Hong Kong civil society observers. Three weeks ago, he wrote on social media platform LinkedIn about his work anniversary and his team’s progress.
“Let’s keep our faith up at this abnormal time and continue our important work,” he said.


India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades

Updated 13 June 2025
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India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades

  • Sole flight survivor, a British citizen of Indian origin, is being treated in hospital
  • Family members provide DNA samples to help identify crash victims

NEW DELHI: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon.

The sole survivor, a British citizen of Indian origin, is being treated in hospital, the airline confirmed.

“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat.

The passengers comprised 169 Indian citizens, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and a Canadian.

The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane’s wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off.

Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.

Those killed on board include a family visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who was moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat.

Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, most of which were charred beyond recognition.

Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers.

“Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,” Khatika told Arab News.

“It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don’t know how to react.”

Many Indians have taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in.

In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people caught in the path of the plane crash perished.

Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and 2-year-old daughter, who were on the side of the building where the plane crashed, were missing. 

“Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,” Ravi told Arab News.

“We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.”

India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched.

Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts.

India, the world’s third-largest aviation market, has suffered several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided in mid-air over New Delhi, killing about 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard.


Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security

Updated 13 June 2025
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Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security

TOKYO: Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya met with Dileita Mohamed Dileita, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Djibouti, on Friday and praised the “deepening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of maritime security.”

Iwaya stated that Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea and an important sea lane linking Europe and Asia, is a strategically important partner in the quest for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).”

Referring to the good relations between the two countries and his own special attachment toward Japan, President Dileita expressed his appreciation and gratitude for Japan’s development cooperation in various fields and for the Self-Defense Force facility in Djibouti, noting the strategic importance of his country.

The two sides exchanged views on issues that included the regional situation in Africa and in East Asia and agreed to further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in regional and international arena, with a view to TICAD 9 in August and Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

• This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan