Pakistan's Perfidy
Yesterday, the President of Pakistan chose this august assembly to make a public admission for the first timethat Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir. After claiming that there is an indigenousstruggle in Kashmir, he has offered to encourage a general cessation of violence within Kashmir, in return for"reciprocal obligations and restraints".
We totally refuse to let terrorism become a tool of blackmail. Just as the world did not negotiate with Al-Qaidaor the Taliban, we shall not negotiate with terrorism.
If we do so, we would be betraying the people of Jammu & Kashmir, who defied a most ferocious campaign ofviolence and intimidation sponsored from across our borders, and participated in an election, which has beenuniversally hailed as free and fair. This was an unequivocal expression of both determination andself-determination.
When the cross-border terrorism stops – or when we eradicate it – we can have a dialogue with Pakistan onthe other issues between us.
While on this subject, I would also like to point out to the President of Pakistan that he should not confusethe legitimate aspiration for equality of nations with outmoded concepts of military parity.
The Hint of North Korea-Pakistan Nexus
We should be particularly concerned at the various recent revelations about clandestine transfers of weaponsof mass destruction and their technologies. We face the frightening prospect of these weapons and technologiesfalling into the hands of terrorists. Surely something needs to be done about the helplessness ofinternational regimes in preventing such transactions, which clearly threaten international security. The sameregimes expend considerable energy in imposing a variety of discriminatory technology-denial restrictions onresponsible states.
Non-Military Threats
Our preoccupation with terrorism should not dilute our commitment to tackle the non-military threats to humanand international security. We have to sustain the fight against trafficking in narcotic drugs, human beingsand small arms; the pandemic of HIV/AIDS; diseases like malaria and tuberculosis that grip developingcountries and the degradation of our common environment. Food security, energy security and health securityare important goals.
The countries of the North and of the South – the developed, developing, and transition economies – mustresume their dialogue to build a better world for the present and future generations. For the agenda ofglobalization, Cancun was a disappointment. Significant progress was made at Johannesburg towards realisationof sustainable development, but the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change remains stalled.The Bio-diversity Convention has not yielded any tangible benefits to the world’s poor.
International economic relations continue to be characterised by inequities and inequalities. Globalisationhas helped sections of the international economy, including some developing countries. However, largecommunities have been left outside its pale. It has engendered economic crises and instability in severaldeveloping countries, which have sharply increased poverty.
Poverty is multidimensional. It extends beyond money incomes to education, health care, skills enhancement,political participation at all levels from the local to the global, access to natural resources, clean waterand air, and advancement of one’s own culture and social organisation.
Poverty alleviation requires resources on a far greater scale than now available. Globalization itselfconstrains developing country governments in raising public resources for poverty alleviation. The promise ofthe climate change and biodiversity treaties to raise significant resources for investment and technologytransfer is yet unrealised. The resources of multilateral and bilateral development agencies are limited bythe failure of industrialised countries to enhance development budgets.
Therefore, if the current regimes of globalization and sustainable development are to be expanded – or evento survive – they must be directly harnessed to provide the necessary resources for poverty alleviation. Infact, all international agreements and initiatives affecting developing countries have to be evaluated bytheir impact on poverty.
Developing countries need to coordinate their positions in international negotiations to promote the adoptionof regimes, which would help poverty alleviation. The India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum, which wasestablished earlier this year, is an effort in this direction.
No Luxury of Time
We in the developing countries do not have the luxury of time. Political compulsions force us to meet theaspirations of our people quickly even as we subject ourselves to newer and more rigid international standardsand norms. We owe it to our future generations to make strong efforts to meet the Millennium DevelopmentGoals. There is a mutuality of interest in this between the developed and the developing countries. Globalinterdependence today means that economic disasters in developing countries could create a backlash ondeveloped countries. We hope the world will act in this spirit of enlightened self-interest.