India’s Contribution towards the United Nations:

India (Contribution) has been an active member of the UN since its inception.

i) In 1946, India became the first country to raise the issues of racism and apartheid in South Africa in the UN forum ;

.ii)India played an important part in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

iii)The first woman president of the UNGA was an Indian, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, in 1953

.iv)India’s contribution to the UNSC is a great job.

v)India has contributed immensely to UN Peacekeeping Missions in various parts of the world.

vi)India has sent her peacekeeping troops to Korea, Egypt, Congo, Haiti, Angola, Somalia, Liberia, Rwanda, Lebanon, South Sudan, etc.

vii)India has been regularly one of the largest contributors of troops to the missions.

viii)Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of non-violence resonate deeply with the UN’s principles. In 2007, the UN declared Gandhi’s birth anniversary of October 2 as the ‘International Day of Non-violence’

.viii)In 2014, the UNGA declared that 21st June would be observed as International Yoga Day.

Aims & Objectives of United Nation ;

(1) To maintain international peace and security;

(2)To encourage international cooperation in the spheres of social, economic and cultural developments;

(3) To develop friendly relations among nations on principles of equal rights and self-determination;

(4) To recognize the fundamental rights of all people.

United Nations Reforms OR Challenges ;

1. Security Council reform: UN structure has challenged change in the permanent membership of the UN Security Council,

.2) UN Secretariat Transparency reform:

Calls for reforming the UN demand to make the UN administration (usually called the UN Secretariat or “the bureaucracy”) more transparent, more accountable, and more efficient, including direct election of the Secretary-General by the people as in a presidential system.

3) Democracy reform: UN become “more democratic”, and a key institution of a world democracy.

4) Calls for diversity and democracy:

Implementation of population-based UN voting also raises the problems of diversity of interests and governments of the various nations. The nations in the UN contain representative democracies as well as absolute dictatorships and many other types of government.

5)Financing reform:

On the subject of financing, Paul Hawken made the following proposal in his book The Ecology of Commerce:” A tax on missiles, planes, tanks, and guns would provide the UN with its entire budget, as well as pay for all peacekeeping efforts around the world, including there settlement of refugees and reparations to the victims of war.”

6)Human rights reform :

On Wednesday, 15 March 2006, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favors of establishing a new United Nations Human Rights Council, the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, with the resolution receiving approval from 170 members of the 191-nationAssembly.some of the challenges to the UN’s efforts for global peace are as follows:

Geopolitical aggression and intransigence:

Conflicts are becoming commonplace and gradually being magnified by rival global powers as they lend support toproxy groups towage waroverseas. The UNSC, being dominated by a few nations, is unable to take a neutral stand on issues, thus endangering world peace and security. Apart from issuing declarations, the UN has been unable to stop certain conflicts from taking place.

Legacies of military intervention and regime change:

Framed as interventions to counter terror, save civilians or remove rogue regimes, in case after case, military intervention and regime change have failed to bring lasting stability or to defeat fundamentalist groups. This has brought an atmosphere of distrust regarding any intervention done by the UN.

Panic over forced displacement:

As desperate people flee war zones ;the impact of forced displacement is hitting neighboring countries hardest and they are trying to manage as best as they can. Meanwhile, Western governments are making hasty deals to support border and security forces in transit countries to close their borders and shut the problem out. But such short-term measures will only further antagonize the nations who are overburdened by the inflow of refugees.

Struggling humanitarianism:

Undoubtedly humanitarians have a tough job. The UN and others are making enormous efforts, with inadequate resources, to assist the victims of conflict. But they are not yet good enough at defending humanitarian values, working for prevention during a crisis or empowering those affected by humanitarian crises to take the initiative .Western interventions in countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. have not brought about lasting peace or stability to those regions. The UN has largely been like a mute spectator to the horrible events (humanitarian crises, woes of migrants who flee these zones) that unfolded in these conflict-ridden zones of the world. Although, it must be acknowledged that many humanitarian efforts such as by the WHO, UNICEF, WFP, etc. have helped these zones immensely at least in their respective domains. However, political resolutions to conflicts are trickier and the UN does face enormous challenges in this regard

.UNSC Reforms:

There have been great demands for reforms within the Security Council. TheG4 Nations comprising India, Germany, Brazil and Japan are championing each other’s bid for permanent seats in the Security Council.

Not only in the UNSC, world leaders are also demanding a change in the manner in which the UN system functions, calling for more localization, lesser bureaucracy and more decision-making powers to those nations where most of the UN’s humanitarian work is concentrated, like the African countries .Like all challenges, there are solutions to face them as well. Here are a few solutions on how the UN works for conflict resolution and peaceful change in an era of mistrust and division

.In an era where a consensus, political or otherwise, is hard to arrive at, it will be crucial to use the vision and the mandate of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This consensus was developed through a uniquely consultative process. ‘Sustaining peace’ should also be a moment to reclaim the policy space. A panic regarding policy is setting in –framing conflicts as ‘terror’ threats and as a ‘migration’ crisis is only enlarging the problem. Prevention and peace-making tools are the answer to these problems.

The UN must not settle for an inert and technocratic approach focused only on building the capacity of state institutions, no matter how strong or weak the political pressure. At the heart of the SDG sisa drive for transformative change with more peaceful, just and inclusive societies helping to shape stronger and more inclusive institutions. If sustaining peace merely means reinforcing the very institutions that are at the heart of the problem –suchas blood-thirsty military regimes or corrupt bureaucracies –then, such an endeavour is an exercise in futility.

Remaining true to an agenda that will transform people’s lives requires supporting those who work for peaceful change–in and out of government, including women and youth. This requires a willingness to step out of national capitals, to talk to a wider range of people, to build up an understanding of conflicts rooted in people’s priorities, and to work in solidarity with people to help them.

These reforms are of utmost importance as the world faces newer challenges in the form of climate change, environmental degradation, population growth, refugee and stateless peoples, etc.

Treaties Signed:

On 20 September 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons opened for signature at the United Nations headquarters in New York. As of 20 September, fifty (50) States have signed the treaty, with three (3)States also depositing their instruments of ratification with the Office of Legal Affairs

.On 16thSeptember 2020, Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi sign wide-ranging treaty establishing full relations, ‘recognizing that the Arab and Jewish peoples are descendant of a common ancestor, Abraham ’Israel on 15thSeptember2020 signed separate bilateral normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. All three countries also signed a trilateral document, dubbed the “Abraham Accords” after the patriarch of the world’s three major monotheistic religions.

For Reading about- About Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): – (shridaddy.com)– Click here

US President Donald Trump signed as a witness. The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements (UNISA) on 17thAugust 2019 was signed by India’s High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf, representing the Government of India. Forty-six countries signed the treaty named Singapore Convention on Mediation .India has signed so far 560 treaties on the various matter like, Aid& Cooperation, Business& Trade, Civil &Criminal matters, Cultural relations & Sports, Defense & Security, Diplomatic relations, Education, Environment& Resources, Friendships, Health, Immunities & Privileges, International organizations& agencies, International Law, Maritime law, Science& Technology, Social security, Transport etc.