The sentence in the declaration read “to realize our common vision of a common future”.
The United Nations:
The President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, modified a sentence of the draft declaration to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations after India, as well as countries like the United Kingdom and the United United raised an objection to the sentence, which is said to be similar to the wording used by the Chinese Communist Party.
Muhammad-Bande disseminated the draft declaration to UN member states as part of the silence procedure, under which if no member state objects to the bill within a specified period, the text is adopted.
According to the United Nations Association in the United Kingdom (UNA-UK), a charitable endeavor that focuses on UK action at the UN, British Ambassador Jonathan Allen broke the silence procedure on June 24 “on behalf of the five eyes” intelligence community. – United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and India.
He said the six countries objected to a sentence near the end of the statement that read – “to realize our common vision for a common future”.
Countries wanted this wording to be replaced by “to achieve our shared vision of a better future, as provided for in the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations”.
With the suggested wording, the paragraph of the draft declaration would read: “What we agree to today will affect the sustainability of our planet as well as the well-being of generations for decades to come.
Through reinvigorated global action and building on the progress made over the past 75 years, we are determined to secure the future we want. To achieve this, we will mobilize resources, intensify our efforts and demonstrate unprecedented political will and leadership. We will work with our partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common good of present and future generations and to realize our shared vision for a better future, as envisioned in the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations. “
UNA-UK said in a statement that it heard from a number of sources that the reason the six countries oppose the phrase “to achieve our common vision of a common future” is because “a vision shared for a common future “. has a “similarity to the wording used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to describe its foreign policy aspirations.”
He said the expression was used in a report by former Chinese Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao to the 18th CCP Congress in 2012. “Thus, the language must be seen in the context of the current rivalry between the United States and China, between the Great Power and China, with the United Kingdom firmly allying with the United States, “he said.
Following the objection, Muhammad-Bande wrote to UN member states on June 25 to offer him a reworked sentence to replace the sentence on which silence was broken.
“We will work with our partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common future of present and future generations,” added the new sentence proposed by the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
On the evening of June 26, Muhammad-Bande stated that there were no objections to the proposed new sentence.
However, he said he had been “informed of a question regarding a particular element of the draft final declaration, which would require further clarification to conclude the process”.
The declaration by the “Heads of State and Government representing the peoples of the world” to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations is to be adopted on September 21, 2020 and takes note of the COVID19 pandemic which “continues to affect our world. “
“The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us in the most powerful way that we are closely interconnected and only as strong as our weakest link. Only by working together and in solidarity can we end the pandemic and deal effectively with its consequences.
“Only together can we build resilience to future pandemics and other global challenges. Multilateralism is not an option but a necessity because we are rebuilding better for a more egalitarian, more resilient and more sustainable world. The United Nations must be at the center of our efforts, “said the statement.
The declaration also underlines that armed conflicts and threats to international peace and security must be urgently resolved by peaceful means.
“The United Nations must better fight against all forms and all areas of threats. Terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism constitute serious threats to international peace and security,” he said.
The declaration also emphasizes the need to “modernize” the United Nations, saying that “we are committed to breathing new life into Security Council reform discussions and continuing work to revitalize the Assembly and strengthen the Economic and Social Council. The review of the peacebuilding architecture enjoys our full support. “
It should be noted that reform of the multilateral system and the fight against terrorism are among the main priorities of India as it prepares to sit on the Security Council for a two-year term from 1 January 2021 in as a non-permanent member after massively winning the UNSC Election this month.
Called STANDARDS, India will focus on “a new direction for a reformed multilateral system”. India’s priorities include new opportunities for progress, an effective response to international terrorism, the reform of multilateral systems, a comprehensive approach to peace and security and human-scale technologies. .
