By Arun Kumar,

United Nations, Sep 28 (IANS) India Wednesday called for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations to address the challenges posed by the globalisation of threats and the limitations of current international systems.

"We need to enfranchise the UN to meet the challenges of our time by reinforcing its role and authority as the core of real multilateralism," said Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the General Debate of the 61st UN General Assembly.

The discontents of globalisation would only deepen without a reform of multilateral bodies overseeing security, trade, financial flows and development to build an effective and equitable global partnership, he said.

This is an imperative even for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, he said suggesting that the UN be given a role in providing direction to the comprehensive reform of the international financial and trading systems also.

Seeking similar reforms in the architecture of the international security system, Mukherjee said both permanent and non-permanent membership of the Security Council should be expanded to reflect the changed international environment.

The Security Council has not only to be more representative but also more effective if it is to be able to satisfactorily perform the role mandated to it by the Charter.

The General Assembly too needs to be revitalised so that it may effectively address topics such as international law and human rights, financial, budgetary and administrative matters, as well as the global economic architecture and important issues related to development, he said.

Describing the problem of terrorism as one of the most crucial issues of our times, Mukherjee said while this phenomenon has become increasingly global, world's collective response to it has remained rather inadequate.

The international community must signal that it will no longer tolerate the actions of the sponsors and abettors of terrorism or of those who wilfully fail to prevent terrorists from utilising their territories, he said.

While India has gone along with the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy for now, member nations must work together to finalise and adopt the Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism during the current session itself, he said.

Referring to the threat posed by the existence of nuclear weapon and emergence of new dangers posed by the link of proliferation of WMD related materials and technologies to non-state actors and terrorist groups, Mukherjee said India will be presenting a working paper on nuclear disarmament.

The international community needs to work together to meet these challenges, he said noting that India's record in this regard is impeccable and it has instituted effective measures to ensure that technologies developed by it are not leaked in any way.

Referring to the impasse in international trade negotiations, Mukherjee said while their early resumption is desirable, adherence to the existing mandate is imperative - the mandate of the Doha Declaration, the July Framework and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.

Demanding market access from developing countries, which displace low-income and subsistence farmers to satisfy commercial interests, cannot be supported, he said.

Proportionately lower overall tariff reduction commitments and operable and effective development instruments of special products and special safeguard mechanism are the essential components of securing food security, livelihood security and rural development needs of developing countries.

The overarching principle of special and differential treatment, therefore, remains a categorical imperative, and is the underlying basis of the position of developing countries, Mukherjee said.

Comprehensive reform of the international financial and trading systems must be aimed at building an international architecture that reflects the realities of the 21st century and is able to create an environment that effectively supports national efforts to eradicate poverty.

The UN should encourage time-bound second stage IMF quota reform, involving a basic revision of the quota formula and subsequent increase of quotas for all under-represented countries.

The quota reform has to begin with the revision of the formula, so as to reflect the relative economic strengths of countries in the 21st century.

Turning to development assistance, Mukherjee said while private sector investment was today playing an important role in development, it couldn't replace public investment in developing countries whose absorptive capacities are often limited and where physical and social infrastructure is weak.

Ways must also be found to encourage least developed countries out of the debt trap by extension of debt-cancellation programmes, without insisting on conditionalities, such as encouraging privatisation which, applied indiscriminately, may recreate the original difficulties that necessitated a recourse to debt in the first place.

Noting that developing countries bear the heaviest burden from pandemics, epidemics and chronic disease, Mukherjee called for an enhanced global collaborative effort to confront the proliferation of challenges affecting the lives of the majority of people.

The scourge of HIV/AIDS, malaria, avian influenza and tuberculosis seriously threaten the future of many developing countries by robbing them of their most productive segment of society - the youth - thereby affecting the future of these countries, he said.

The world also needed to address the central issue of the special needs of the developing countries, especially in Africa and the vulnerable small states, Mukherjee said.

India, on its part shall continue to expand its programme of South-South cooperation through New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), TEAM 9 - a special programme for West African countries - and by means of the connectivity mission in Africa as well as assistance, capacity-building and technology transfer aimed at reducing the vulnerabilities of small states, he said.