For the First Time, the UN General Assembly Resolution on Multilingualism Mentions Hindi Language

*Paromita Das
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a resolution on multilingualism sponsored by India that mentions Hindi, Bangla, and Urdu for the first time.

The resolution passed on Friday encourages the United Nations to continue disseminating important communications and messages in official and non-official languages, including Hindi.

“For the first time this year, the resolution mentions the Hindi language.

For the first time, the resolution mentions Bangla and Urdu. These additions are greatly appreciated “ANI quoted India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti.

“Since 2018, India has been collaborating with the UN Department of Global Communications (DGC) by providing an extra-budgetary contribution to mainstream and consolidate news and multimedia content in Hindi,” he added.

He stated that multilingualism is recognized as a core value of the United Nations and thanked the Secretary-General for prioritizing multilingualism. The ‘Hindi @ UN’ project was launched in 2018 in an effort to improve the United Nations’ public outreach in Hindi and raise awareness about global issues among millions of Hindi-speaking people around the world. “In this regard, I would like to recall UNSC resolution 13(1), adopted in its first session on 1 February 1946, which stated that the United Nations cannot achieve its goals unless the people of the world are fully informed of its goals and activities,” the Indian envoy said.

He stated that multilingualism is essential in the United Nations and that India will assist the UN in achieving this goal.

Multilingualism is an important factor in intercultural communication and a facilitator of multilateral diplomacy. It ensures that everyone participates effectively in the Organization’s work, as well as greater transparency, efficiencies, and better results.

“The General Assembly has recognised multilingualism as a core value of the Organization.” As a result, all United Nations Secretariat entities are expected to actively participate and demonstrate their commitment to this joint effort. According to the UN, “multilingualism mandates also call for the mainstreaming of multilingualism throughout the Secretariat.”

The six official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish; English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.