IBSA countries stress on commitment to democratic values - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

India, Brazil and South Africa on Thursday highlighted the three countries’ commitment to democratic values, inclusive social development and the fact that multilateralism constitute the basis for their growing cooperation and close coordination on global issues. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and South African President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma met in Brasília on Thursday (April 15) for the 4th Summit of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum. Recalling the Declarations and Communiqués issued during the previous Summits, the leaders took the opportunity to deliberate on the topics hereunder. On Global Governance, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to increase participation of developing countries in the decision-making bodies of multilateral institutions. They also reiterated the urgent need for the reform of the United Nations (UN) to render it more democratic and consistent with the priorities of developing countries. They particularly emphasized that no reform of the United Nations will be complete without a reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC), including an expansion in both permanent and nonpermanent categories of its membership, with increased participation of developing countries in both. They committed to keep close coordination amongst the three countries and the broader UN membership to achieve substantial progress in the intergovernmental negotiations on UNSC reform presently underway in New York . The leaders stressed the need to reform the Bretton Woods Institutions in order to increase their effectiveness and enhance their accountability, credibility and legitimacy Besides, they stressed at the importance of increasing the role of developing countries in these institutions. The Leaders also reiterated the need to promote a job-intensive recovery from the downturn and create a framework for sustainable growth. They also reaffirmed that their actions in response to the crisis are guided by the International Labour Organization (ILO) decent work agenda and the 2008 declaration on social justice for a fair globalization. On the issue of empowering women, the leaders stressed at the importance of empowering women, increasing their participation in economic activities and addressing the negative impact of the international financial crisis on their situation. On Human Rights, the leaders attached the highest priority to human rights issues and acknowledged the positive advance represented by the creation and functioning of the Human Rights Council. They also emphasized the need to continue to strengthen international human rights law, norms and standards, particularly in the area of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in accordance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. On the issue of Intellectual Property Rights, the leaders recognized that innovation plays a central role in addressing the key global challenges of our times such as food security, poverty eradication, health, access to knowledge and climate change. They emphasized, in this context, the need for a balanced international intellectual property system capable of meeting those challenges on a truly global scale and reducing the technological gap. To that effect, they called for the full implementation of the Development Agenda of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).