There is no alternative to UN, says Shashi Tharoor

Former Union Minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said in the current global set-up, there is no alternative to the United Nations (UN).

"There is no alternative to the UN and I definitely believe that it can improve," Tharoor said here while discussing the future of the world organisation in the changing geopolitical scenario.

He was speaking at a panel discussion after the launch of 'Seven Decades and Beyond: The UN-India connect', a book which traces the journey of India at the UN.

The book was launched by Lt. Gen., Satish Nambiar (retd), first Force Commander and Head of Mission of United Nations Protection Force in the former Yugoslavia during 1992-93.

"We are looking at a time when the principal donor country headed by a President who in all these years being a familiar figure in New York... never associated himself with UN... I am told that in the proposed spending cuts, there is huge cuts proposed to the allocation for the UN," Tharoor, former Under-Secretary General of the UN, said while discussing the proposed budget cut in the US by President Donald Trump's administration.

Talking about the challenges being faced by the UN, he said that we are facing number of confusing and competing signals, like, is the US in retreat and how the new assertive Russia and China will impact the political dynamics of the UN.

"What happens to the legitimate frustrations of countries like India," he said while talking about India's aspiration for the permanent place in the UN security council.

"I really fear in the course of next few years, we will be fretting away the accomplishment, that we are celebrating, in the first 70 years."

The world is neither uni-polar nor bi-polar, and not really multi-polar but is in a transition which is really going to challenge the UN leadership considerably, he added.

"I can affirm that the UN is vital... it is just a mirror of the world," Tharoor said.

"There is no institution in the world that brings together every single country in the planet."

The event was organised by the UN and India International Centre.

--IANS

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