I thank you Mr. President for giving me the floor.
I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening us today.
I thank the Deputy Secretary General for her statement.
My delegation aligns itself with the statements of G-77 and China and the LDC group.
In our national capacity, we would like to highlight three specific points:
First, the Secretary General’s proposal to create an ‘Emergency Platform’ to respond to complex global crises is timely. We have seen how woefully unprepared we were in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic—both in the fronts of early warning and timely response.
We, therefore, reiterate the need for a comprehensive crises management mechanism, especially to support countries which are the most vulnerable. Obviously, such a platform should have an inter-governmentally agreed mandate. We invite the Secretary-General to undertake a study to make concrete recommendations to advance this idea, including on the institutional mechanism, and funding.
Second, we echo the Secretary General’s call for a “credible solidarity package” of support to the developing countries for tackling the adverse impacts of Climate Change. The developed countries must fulfill their historic responsibilities based on the CBDR-RC principles.
We are encouraged by the Glasgow commitments for enhanced mitigation target, for mobilizing climate finance beyond 100 billion USD and for doubling adaptation financing etc. Yet these pledges are far below than expected. And as such, the IPCC Working Group II Sixth Assessment Report has rightly highlighted the importance of enhanced financial resources for adaptation, especially for developing countries.
It is imperative to set much higher ambition to achieve 1.5 degree target, enhanced financing, technology transfer and address loss and damage, especially to ensure a safer and more prosperous planet for our future generations.
Finally, we echo the call of the Secretary General not only to close “Vaccines Divides” but also to strengthen the global health architecture by ensuring access to health technologies and universal health coverage.
The pandemic has put a sharp spotlight on the stark inequalities—both within and among countries. The vulnerable countries such as the LDCs have suffered disproportionately due to serious limitations of their health infrastructure. For them, reinvigorated international support is required more than ever before.
The Doha Programme of Action for LDCs, which is expected to be adopted later this month, has identified some ambitious targets and deliverables in this regard. We invite the UN system to integrate the deliberations and strategic priorities of the OCA with the DPOA to ensure their most effective and synergistic implementations in the context of LDCs.
I thank you Mr. President.