External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addressed the 71st #UNGA session in the New York city on Monday. Here is what she said on various subjects:

Responding to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s statements made five days earlier at #UNGA, she said:

  • What pre-conditions, Mr. PM? We have, infact, attempted a paradigm of friendship without precedent.
  • Those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect & see their own egregious abuses.
  • The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression.
  • My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so.

Terrorism:

  • In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it.
  • Swaraj spoke of the blood and tear of victims from Paris to Pathankot & Brussels to Uri.
  • Terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights, a crime against humanity itself. But we must ask – who benefits?
  • Those who seed extremist ideologies, reap a bitter harvest. This germ of evil has grown into a hydra-headed monster.

Climate change:

  • I assure this Assembly that India will continue to play a leading role in combating #climatechange.
  • If we respect nature, nature will respect & nurture us & future generations. We must curb reckless consumption and adopt lifestyles in harmony with nature.

On duties of developing & developed nations:

  • While our responsibility is common, our obligations are different.
  • The Foreign Minister thanked unprecedented global response for #Ineternational Day of Yoga, the storehouse of India’s ancient wisdom, epitomises a sustainable lifestyle.
  • Nothing underlines our commitment to the SDGs more than the approach of our National Parliament.
  • I am happy that the 17 goals adopted by this Assembly are matched by development vision of my government.
  • From managing new vaccines to managing natural disasters and mobility of human resources Swaraj outlines the issues discussed at #UNGA.
  • We must remember that we will be defined not just by our actions, but equally, by our inaction.

Swaraj exhorts the #UNGA to action:

  • Two critical unfulfilled tasks remain: First, passing the CCIT, pending for two decades.
  • Second, an expansion in the membership of UNSC to reflect contemporary realities is an urgent necessity.

Swaraj concluded her #UNGA address reiterating the call for action: “What happens tomorrow will depend on what we do today.”

Praise unexpected:
Arvind Kejriwal: Sushma ji presented India’s viewpoint very well at UNGA. Congratulations to her

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