United Nations & India | UPSC Mains: World History PDF Download

UN Contribution to India

• United Nations agencies, offices, programmes and funds working in India comprise one of the largest UN field networks anywhere in the world.
• The Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT):
  (i) APCTT founded in 1977 at New Delhi, is a Regional Institute of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) with a geographic focus of the entire Asia-Pacific region.
  (ii) Centre has focused on three specific areas of activity: technology information; technology transfer; and innovation management.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
  (i) When FAO began its India operations in 1948, its priority was to transform India’s food and farm sectors through technical inputs and support for policy development.
  (ii) Over the years, FAO’s contribution has extended to issues such as access to food, nutrition, livelihoods, rural development and sustainable agriculture.
  (iii) With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), much of FAO’s focus in India will be on sustainable agricultural practices.
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
  (i) IFAD and the Government of India have achieved significant results investing in the commercialization of smallholding-agriculture and building small farmers’ capacity to increase incomes from market opportunities.
  (ii) IFAD-supported projects have also provided women with access to financial services, such as by linking women’s self-help groups with commercial banks.
• International Labour Organization (ILO):
  (i) The first ILO Office in India started in 1928. There are 43 ILO conventions and 1 protocol ratified by India.

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

• IOM assisted Indian citizens who were among the thousands of people displaced by the Persian Gulf War (1990s).
• In 2001, IOM’s prompt and effective assistance during the Gujarat earthquake planted the seed of IOM operations in India as a humanitarian agency.
• In 2007, recognizing India as a major labour-sending and labour-receiving country and its importance as a remittance-receiving country, IOM began working with migrants on safe and legal migration, warning them of the risks associated with irregular migration.
• UNESCO - Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP):
  (i) MGIEP is an integral part of UNESCO, established with generous support from the Government of India in 2012 in New Delhi.
  (ii) The Institute’s global mandate is to transform education policies and practices by developing innovative teaching and learning methods.
  (iii) It works for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 – “education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world”.
  (iv) A project 'Rethinking Schooling' was launched by UNESCO-MGIEP with the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education in 2016-17.
  (v) The first review of SDGs (4.7) by MGIEP, was released in Rethinking Schooling for the 21st century.
• United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women):
  (i) In India, UN-Women’s five priority areas are:
  (a) ending violence against women and girls,
  (b) expanding women’s leadership and participation,
  (c) making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting,
  (d) enhancing women’s economic empowerment,
  (e) and engaging women as global peace-builders and negotiators.
  (ii) UN Women advocates for greater participation of women in politics and decision-making, and works with planning bodies such as NITI Aayog to ensure that policies and budgets reflect the needs of women.
• Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS): Its mission is to help prevent new HIV infections, care for people living with HIV and mitigate the impact of the epidemic.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
  (i) In the 1950s and 1960s, UNDP helped establish institutions of major national importance, including space centres and nuclear research laboratories.
  (ii) Over the last decade, UNDP has focused on building the resilience of people faced with the risks of natural disasters and climate change, and of minorities to various forms of discrimination.
• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP):
  (i) In December 2011, a new South and South-West Asia office of ESCAP was inaugurated in New Delhi to serve 10 countries in the sub-region.
  (ii) As it moves up the development ladder, India has been sharing its experience and capabilities with fellow developing countries in the region and beyond, using ESCAP’s platform for this purpose.
• UNESCO
  (i) In India, UNESCO has provided technical support to several premier educational institutions.
  (ii) As part of its World Heritage programme, it has recognized 27 cultural heritage sites in India, such as the Taj Mahal and the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.
  (iii) UNESCO has also played a pioneering role in the development of community radio in India, having helped to formulate the Community Radio Policy of 2002.
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
  (i) Currently, UNFPA is placing greater emphasis on policy development and advocacy reflecting India’s middle-income status.
  (ii) It raises awareness about demographic shifts towards older populations and about the need to harness the opportunities and address the challenges of population ageing.
• United Nations Commission on Human Settlements (UN-Habitat)
  (i) UN-Habitat promotes socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
  (ii) UN-Habitat’s initiatives in India include supporting government projects on sanitation coverage in urban areas, urban water supply and environmental improvement, and supporting organizations that empower women’s group and youth groups to fight social exclusion.
  (iii) UN-Habitat "World Cities Report 2016"
  (a) As per Census 2011, 377 million Indians comprising 31.1% of the total population lived in urban areas.
  (b) This is estimated to have risen to 420 million in 2015.
  (iv) UN-Habitat-New Urban agenda (NUA)-2017 addresses Goal-11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  (v) India launched the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut), Smart Cities, Hriday (National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana), and Swachh Bharat prominently allied to the goals of the UN-Habitat-NUA.
• United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
  (i) In 1954, UNICEF signed an agreement with the Government of India to fund the Aarey and Anand milk processing plants. In return, free and subsidised milk would be provided to needy children in the area.
  (a) Within a decade, India had thirteen UNICEF assisted milk processing plants.
  (b) Today, India has become the world’s largest producer of milk.
  (ii) Polio Campaign-2012: The Government, in partnership with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contributed to almost universal awareness of the need to vaccinate all children under five against polio.
  (a) As a result of these efforts, India was removed from the list of endemic countries in 2014.
  (iii) It is also supporting nationwide campaigns on maternal and child nutrition and the reduction of neonatal mortality and stillbirth rates to single digits by 2030.
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO):
  (i) The programme, Integrated Approach Programme on Sustainable Cities-2017 funded by the Global Environment Facility and co-implemented by the World Bank and UNIDO.
• World Food Programme (WFP)
  (i) WFP is working to improve the efficiency, accountability and transparency of India’s own subsidized food distribution system, which brings supplies of wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene oil to around 800 million poor people across the country.
• World Health Organization (WHO)
  (i) World Health Organization (WHO)
  (a) The WHO Country Office for India is headquartered in Delhi with country-wide presence.
  (ii) It has also been instrumental in the country’s transition from hospital-based to community-based care and the resultant increase in health posts and centres focusing on primary care.
  (iii) The WHO Country Cooperation Strategy – India (2012-2017) has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and the WHO Country Office for India (WCO).
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
  (i) India has a long tradition of receiving refugees that goes back centuries.
  (ii) UNHCR’s support to India dates back to 1969-1975 when it coordinated aid to Tibetan refugees as well as refugees from then East Pakistan.
  (iii) UNHCR's urban operation is based in New Delhi with a smaller presence in Chennai that helps Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu voluntarily repatriate back to Sri Lanka.
  (iv) In the absence of a national legal framework for refugees, UNHCR conducts refugee status determination under its mandate for asylum seekers who approach the Office.
  (v) The two largest groups of refugees recognized by UNHCR are Afghans and Myanmar nationals, but people from countries as diverse as Somalia and Iraq have also sought help from the Office.
• United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)
  (i) Under the scheme of partition provided by the Indian Independence Act of 1947, Kashmir was free to accede to India or Pakistan. Its accession to India became a matter of dispute between the two countries and fighting broke out later that year.
  (ii) In January 1948, the Security Council adopted resolution 39, establishing the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to investigate and mediate the dispute.
  (iii) The first team of unarmed military observers, which eventually formed the nucleus of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), arrived in the mission area in January 1949 to supervise, in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and to assist the Military Adviser to UNCIP.
  (iv) At the end of 1971, hostilities broke out again between India and Pakistan. UNMOGIP started along the borders of East Pakistan and were related to the movement for independence, which had developed in that region and which ultimately led to the creation of Bangladesh.
  (v) The last report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on UNMOGIP was published in 1972.
  (vi) Since 1972, India has adopted a non-recognition policy towards third parties in their bilateral exchanges with Pakistan over the question regarding the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
  (a) The military authorities of Pakistan have continued to lodge alleged ceasefire violations complaints with UNMOGIP.
  (b) The military authorities of India have lodged no complaints since January 1972 limiting the activities of the UN observers on the Indian-administered side of the Line of Control, though they continue to provide necessary security, transport and other services to UNMOGIP.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
  (i) UNODC has worked in India over the last 25 years to address drug trafficking in the context of a constantly evolving drug market, involving an increasing number of drugs and psychoactive substances.
  (ii) It also works with the government to address human trafficking, and the prevention, treatment and care of persons who use drugs and live with HIV.
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  (i) Invest India, the country’s investment promotion body, has won United Nations (UN) Award for excellence in promoting investments in sustainable development-2018.
  (a) The awards are given annually by UNCTAD since 2002 as part of its investment promotion and facilitation.
  (ii) India’s consistently strong voice for the developing world has made it a major player with UNCTAD, spanning a multiplicity of economic reforms.

India’s contribution to UN

• India was one of the original members of the League of Nations. As a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles-1919, India was granted automatic entry to the League of Nations.
  (i) India was represented by her Secretary of State, Edwin Samuel Montagu; the Maharaja of Bikaner Sir Ganga Singh; Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for India.
• India was among the original members of the United Nations that signed the Declaration by United Nations at Washington, D.C. in 1944. This declaration became the basis of the United Nations (UN), which was formalized in the United Nations Charter signed by 50 countries in 1945.
• By 1946, India had started raising concerns regarding colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination.
• India was among the most outspoken critics of apartheid and racial discrimination (discriminatory treatment of Indians in the Union of South Africa) in South Africa, being the first country to have raised the issue in the UN in 1946.
• India took an active part in Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights-1948.
• Its experience with the UN had not always been positive. On Kashmir issue, Nehru's faith in the UN and adherence to its principles proved costly as UN that was packed with pro-Pakistani partisan powers.
• Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was elected the first woman President of the UN General Assembly in 1953.
• India's status as a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Group of 77 (G-77) cemented its position within the UN system as a leading advocate of the concerns and aspirations of developing countries and the creation of a more equitable international economic and political order.
• It involved in conflict with China (1962), two wars (1965, 1971) with Pakistan and entered a period of political instability, economic stagnation, food shortages and near-famine conditions.
  (i) India's role diminished in the UN which came both as a result of its image and a deliberate decision by the post-Nehru political leadership to adopt a low profile at the UN and speak only on vital Indian interests.
• India has been a member of the UN Security Council for seven terms (a total of 14 years), with the most recent being the 2011–12 term.
• India is a member of G4 (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan), a group of nations who back each other in seeking a permanent seat on the Security Council and advocate in favour of the reformation of the UNSC.
  (i) The Russian Federation, United States, United Kingdom and France support India and the other G4 countries gaining permanent seats.
• India is also part of the G-77.
  (i) The Group of 77 (G-77) was established on 15 June 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries signatories of the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries”.
  (ii) It is designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations.
  (iii) Because of the historical significance, the name G-77 has been kept despite the group’s growth to include more than 130 countries.
• UN peacekeeping missions: From protecting civilians, disarming ex-combatants and helping countries transition from conflict to peace, India has served the cause of peace.
  (i) At present (2019), India is the third largest troop contributor with 6593 personnel deployed with UN Peacekeeping Missions (Lebanon, Congo, Sudan and South Sudan, Golan Heights, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Liberia).
  (ii) India has suffered the highest number of fatalities (164 out of close to 3,800 personnel) among countries that have sent forces to the United Nations peacekeeping mission since 1948.
• Mahatma Gandhi has had a lasting influence on the United Nations. His ideals of non-violence deeply influenced the United Nations at the time of its inception.
  (i) In 2007, the United Nations declared 2^nd October, Mahatma’s Gandhi’s birthday, as the International day of non-violence.
• In 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution commemorating 21 June as the International Yoga Day.
  (i) It recognises the holistic benefits of this timeless practice and its inherent compatibility with the principles and values of the United Nations.
• Plea for International Equality Day: In 2016, with focus on combating inequalities to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, B. R. Ambedkar's birth anniversary was observed at the United Nations for the first time. India has made a plea to declare April 14 as International Equality Day.