UN Adopts Resolution on Multilingualism, Mentioning Hindi for the First Time

It acknowledges the UN's efforts to use non-official languages, in addition to the six official languages.

The United Nations Assembly.

(Xinhua/Xie E/IANS)

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a resolution on multilingualism sponsored by India that acknowledges the Hindi language for the first time.

The resolution voted on Friday, 10 June, encourages the United Nations to continue spreading vital information and messages in both official and non-official languages, including Hindi.

"This year, for the first time, the resolution has a mention of Hindi language. The resolution encourages the UN department of global communications to continue disseminating important communications and messages in official as well as non-official languages, including in hindi language. The resolution also mentions Bangla and Urdu for the first time. We welcome these additions," said India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti.

The resolution, submitted by Andorra and co-sponsored by over 80 nations, including India, accepted in the 193-member UN General Assembly emphasises the United Nations Secretariat's obligation to integrate multilingualism into its activities on an equal basis.

Multilingualism- The Core Value of UN General Assembly

It acknowledges the United Nations' efforts to use non-official languages, in addition to the six official languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish – for communications with specific local target audiences where appropriate, and emphasises the importance of multilingualism in UN activities.

The resolution expresses gratitude to the Department of Global Communications for its efforts in highlighting some of the Secretary-General's recent important communications and messages in non-official languages, such as Portuguese, Hindi, Kiswahili, Persian, Bangla, and Urdu, in addition to official languages, in order to promote multilingualism.

It urges the Department to distribute them in all six official languages, as well as non-official languages where appropriate, using existing resources.

Speaking in the General Assembly hall, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador T S Tirumurti, remarked that the resolution this year includes a reference to Hindi for the first time.

"The General Assembly has declared multilingualism to be a core value of the organisation. As a result, all United Nations Secretariat organisations are required to actively participate and demonstrate their commitment to this collaborative effort. Multilingual mandates also ask for multilingualism to be mainstreamed throughout the Secretariat," according to the United Nations.