At UN, Rahul pushes India’s nuke agenda

SOME 18 years after his father, then as the India Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, gave the famous speech for a nuclear-weapon free world, and five years after his mother Sonia Gandhi as Leader of Opposition spoke about the global danger of HIV/AIDS, Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament, has raised the crucial issues of sustainable development and human rights in developing and underdeveloped countries at the United Nations.

In his maiden appearance at the United Nations General Assembly last week, Rahul, part of the official Indian delegation, raised his voice to protect the rights of farmers in developing countries. And he did not forget to articulate India’s recent agenda to use nuclear fuel as a clean energy as part of his overall speech on sustainable development.

This was his second speech at the UN on sustainable development. His first speech on the issue of human rights was on October 18.

There needs to be a fresh assessment of nuclear energy, as a clean and safe source of energy, he said, according to statements from the UN, while buttressing that meeting the ever increasing energy needs of the developing world was critical to sustainable development. All significant energy sources whether conventional or advanced fossil fuels based or renewable or civilian nuclear powermust remain in policy reckoning to address energy needs for sustainable development, he said.

Observing that globalization has made farmers of developing countries more vulnerable than ever, Rahul argued: Reducing agricultural tariffs and subsidies is not enough. There must be exceptions to allow developing countries more space to pursue their pro-development strategies and policies aimed at protecting their poor.

Special and differential treatment for developing countries, to enable them to meet food security, livelihood security and rural development needs, remains a categorical imperative, he stressed.

Rahul said that globalization is having its own side effects on the developing countries which need to be addressed. As a result of globalization, external factors contribute to the success or failure of developing countries to a greater extent than before, he said.

Developing countries, Gandhi felt are caught between intellectual property rights and trade regimes. This, along with the conditions imposed by the World Bank and IMF, erode their autonomy and flexibility, he argued. These countries need that autonomy and flexibility to evolve policies and strategies for economic growth and sustainable development, which is so critical to eradicating poverty and achieving millennium development goals, he said.

Earlier on October 18, Rahul urged the developed countries to make a candid introspection of their role and responsibilities in protecting human rights. Arguing that a major challenge facing today is the need to move away from selectivity, double-standards and partial approaches in protecting human rights, Rahul said: We need an honest, self-critical appraisal of whether the international community has managed to achieve a genuine improvement in human rights through giving of report cards or by intrusive monitoring.

Gandhi asked the world body: “Have countries been persuaded to improve their record of human rights simply because resolutions against them have been adopted year after year in the General Assembly? On the other hand, would not an approach based on dialogue, consultation and cooperation have a better chance of resulting in genuine improvement in the enjoyment of human rights by the people of a country? We are convinced of the essential validity of the latter approach.”