For how long will India be kept out of decision-making structures of UN, PM asks at UNGA session
United Nations: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday questioned for how long will India, the world's largest democracy and home to 1.3 billion people, be kept out of the decision-making structures of the United Nations, asserting that reform in the responses, processes and in the very character of the global body is the "need of the hour."
In his pre-recorded video statement to the landmark General Debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Modi said the stability in the United Nations and empowerment of the world body are essential for the welfare of the world.
The prime minister's strong push for UN reforms and the much-delayed expansion of the powerful Security Council came as India will begin its two-year term as an elected non-permanent member of the 15-member Council from January 1 next year.
"For how long will India be kept out of the decision-making structures of the United Nations? How long would a country have to wait particularly when the transformational changes happening in that country affect a large part of the world?" Modi asked.
He said that while it is a fact that the faith and respect that the United Nations enjoys among the 1.3 billion people in India is "unparalleled", it is also true that the people of India have been waiting for a long time for the process for the reforms of the United Nations to get completed.
"Today, people of India are concerned whether this reform-process will ever reach its logical conclusion," he said, adding that every Indian today, while seeing the contribution of India in the world organisation, aspires for India's expanded role in the United Nations.
"Reform in the responses, in the processes, and in the very character of the United Nations is the need of the hour," he emphasised.
India has been spearheading decades-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying a structure set up in 1945 does not reflect contemporary realities of the 21st Century and is ill-equipped to handle current challenges.
There is widespread support, including by four out of the five permanent members of the Security Council - US, UK, France and Russia - for a permanent seat for India at the Council.
Modi said India is a country which is the largest democracy of the world, with more than 18 per cent of the world population, has hundreds of languages, dialects, many sects and ideologies, which was a leading global economy for centuries and also endured hundreds of years of foreign rule.
"When we were strong, we were never a threat to the world, when we were weak, we never became a burden on the world, he said.
Modi emphasised that the world of today is a completely different era from the world of 1945 when the global situation, sources-resources, problems-solutions were all quite different.
"With the changing times, if we don't change, then the drive needed to bring change will also get weakened, he said.
An objective assessment of the performance of the United Nations over the last 75 years would yield several stellar achievements but at the same time, there are also several instances that point to the need for a "serious introspection of the work of the United Nations, he said.
"Several terrorist attacks shook the world and rivers of blood have continued to flow by, he said.
"During those times and even today, can we suggest that efforts of the United Nations to tackle these issues were sufficient, he said.
Modi said India will not hesitate to raise its voice against the enemies of humanity, including terrorism, smuggling of illegal weapons, drugs and money-laundering, and will always speak in support of peace, security and prosperity.
"Starting from January next year, India will also fulfill its responsibility as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. I express my gratitude to all fellow member states who have bestowed this trust upon India, he said, referring to the overwhelming support the country received during the election in June.
"As the world's largest democracy, we will bring our years of rich experience for the benefit of the whole world," he added.
Modi underscored that the ideals on which the UN was founded and India's own fundamental philosophy has a lot of commonality and are not different from each other.
"Within the halls of the United Nations, one has often heard the words the world is one family', he said, adding that it is part of India's culture, character and thinking to treat the whole world as one family.
"In the United Nations too, India has always given priority to the welfare of the whole world, he said, outlining that India has sent its brave soldiers to about 50 peacekeeping missions the world over to keep peace and in the course of maintaining peace, has lost the maximum number of its brave soldiers.
"India's experiences, and India's developmental journey marked with its ups and downs will only add to strengthening the path to global welfare, he said.
"In the changed circumstances of the post-pandemic era, we are moving forward with the vision of a Self-reliant India', which will also be a force multiplier for the global economy, he said.
"In its journey towards progress, India wants to learn from the world as well as share its own experiences with the world," Modi added.
This year's high-level UN General Assembly is being held in a largely virtual format due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti, introduced Modi's pre-recorded statement from the General Assembly Hall.
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WhatsApp says it will exit India if forced to compromise with privacy, Delhi High Court informed
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New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday listed for hearing on August 14 petitions by WhatsApp LLC and its parent company Facebook Inc, now Meta, challenging the 2021 Information Technology (IT) rules for social media intermediaries requiring the messaging app to trace chats and make provisions to identify the first originator of information.
WhatsApp informed the Delhi High Court that its more than 400 million users in India primarily rely on the platform for its robust privacy features. The messaging giant said that that it would cease operations in India if compelled to compromise message encryption, a pivotal safeguard ensuring only intended parties can access message content. Representing the Meta-owned company, its lawyer firmly stated to the court, "As a platform, we are stating that if we are mandated to dismantle encryption, then WhatsApp will exit.”
Observing that the matter would have to be argued by the parties, a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan asked if the issue has been considered in any other country.
"There is no such rule anywhere else in the world. Not even in Brazil," the lawyer appearing for WhatsApp said, adding that the requirement was against the privacy of users and the rule was introduced without any consultation.
The bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet P S Arora, said privacy rights were not absolute and "somewhere balance has to be done."
Central government counsel said the rule was significant when objectionable content is spread on platforms in cases such as those of communal violence.
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 were announced by the government on February 25, 2021 and required large social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to comply with the latest norms.
The bench ordered that the matter be listed for hearing on August 14 to await the transfer of all other petitions challenging several aspects of the 2021 IT Rules to it pursuant to a Supreme Court order.
During the hearing, WhatsApp's counsel said steps have been taken to "contain virality" and it was possible to trace the originator "traditionally" by examining the sequence of senders of a message.
"They say open the entire technology. Is it proportional? I am caught in between," he added.
The counsel also informed the court that all platforms would have to comply with the new data protection law, which deals with collection, processing and sharing of data, once the relevant rules are framed.
In its petition filed in 2021, WhatsApp has said the requirement of intermediaries enabling the identification of the first originator of information in India upon government or court order puts end-to-end encryption and its benefits "at risk".
WhatsApp LLC has urged the high court to declare Rule 4(2) of the intermediary rules as unconstitutional, ultra vires the IT Act and illegal and sought that no criminal liability be imposed on it for any alleged non-compliance with Rule 4(2) which requires enabling the identification of the first originator of information.
WhatsApp said the traceability provision is unconstitutional and against the fundamental right to privacy.
The plea has said the traceability requirement forces the company to break end-to-end encryption on its messaging service, as well as the privacy principles underlying it, and infringes upon the fundamental rights to privacy and free speech of the hundreds of millions of citizens using WhatsApp to communicate privately and securely.
In its reply, the Centre has said the law empowers it to expect such entities to create safe cyberspace and counter “illegal content” either themselves or by assisting the law enforcement agencies.
The Centre has told the court that Section 87 of the Information Technology Act gave it power to formulate Rule 4(2) of the Intermediary Rules which mandates a significant social media intermediary to enable the identification of the first originator of an information in “legitimate state interest” of curbing the menace of fake news and offences concerning national security and public order as well as women and children.
The Centre has also stated that if a platform does not have the means to trace the first originator without breaking the encryption then it is the platform which “ought to develop such mechanism” in larger public duty.
On March 22, the Supreme Court transferred to the Delhi High Court a batch of pleas pending before different high courts across the country challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Several petitions were pending on the issue before different high courts including Karnataka, Madras, Calcutta, Kerala and Bombay high courts.
