PM: UN must reform to progress further

The United Nations (UN) should take stock of its achievements, rectify its weaknesses, and remove all obstacles that prevent its continued progress, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).

While welcoming the adoption of the Declaration for the Commemoration of its 75th Anniversary, the Prime Minister noted the UN had somewhat failed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

“Many people are still suffering due to conflicts, which remain unresolved in various parts of the world.

“The UN must improve in this aspect. To do so, we believe that the organisation must be reformed,” said Muhyiddin in his maiden address to the world body since becoming Prime Minister.

Muhyiddin’s address was pre-recorded for the meeting, held virtually due to the Covid19 pandemic.

He added the commemoration presented a golden opportunity for the international community to do better.

“Let us not miss this opportunity.

'Let us move forward together in building the future we want, and the UN we need,” he said.

He said the organisation needs to be better equipped – not just with political latitude, but with the continued support of its member states to respond to some of the most glaring problems the world is facing.

Muhyiddin also expressed concern that in recent years, certain countries have disregarded UN agreements.

He said the Paris Agreement, for example, was a milestone achieved by nations in combating climate change – a culmination of international efforts that began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.

“We also have a host of instruments and conventions on human rights, most of which took many years to formulate.

“Such instruments govern and regulate our actions in order to allow all of us to progress.

“Unfortunately, in recent years we have seen certain countries disregard such agreements.

“We hope that this stops.

“We must take heed of what our people want and hope for,” he said.

Muhyiddin congratulated Volkan Bozkir of Turkey on his election as the President of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) themed “The Future We Want, the United Nations We Need: Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment To Multilateralism – Confronting Covid-19 Through Effective Multilateral Action”.

“I wish you all the very best and a fruitful presidency”, he said.

Muhyiddin also extended Malaysia’s appreciation to Bozkir’s predecessor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande of Nigeria for his commitment and able leadership.

Muhyiddin also called on the UN to ensure that once a Covid-19 vaccine is found, it is made available to all nations and peoples.

“It (Covid-19) has taken so many lives and has exposed the true capacity and effectiveness of our healthcare systems.

“The socio-economic impact has been just as severe.

“On this, we must ensure that once a vaccine is found, it must be accessible to all nations and peoples.

'There should not be any discrimination whatsoever.

“We must remember that since Covid-19 does not discriminate, our response should not too,” he said.