United Nations: The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate action appear today among the top priority issues at the UN General Assembly, which just commemorated the 75th anniversary of its first meeting.
According to the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, on the occasion of that date, greater international cooperation is now more urgent than ever in the face of great challenges such as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus -causing Covid-19-, climate change and threats to peace.
The day before, at a virtual event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Assembly’s first meeting, held in London in 1946, the top representative of the multilateral body called for more action from world leaders to address those challenges.
Until now, he warned, the global response to the climate emergency has been inadequate, while the health crisis generated by Covid-19 exposes important gaps in cooperation and solidarity issues.
The pandemic revealed inequalities and weaknesses, both within and between countries, including threats to women and girls, he stressed.
At the moment we are in the presence of the nationalism of vaccines, as some rich countries compete to buy doses for their own people, without taking into account the world’s poor, the head of the United Nations said.
While the international community can be proud of their collective achievements, he pointed out, there is a great need to take more action in the face of urgent problems, including the pandemic.
Guterres also highlighted how, in the last 75 years, the work of the General Assembly has helped to advance health, literacy and the improvement of living standards worldwide, as well as to promote human rights and gender equality.
For his part, the president of the United Nations General Assembly in its 75th session, Volkan Bozkir, pointed out that this is the body in which all member states can peacefully address their differences and find solutions to global challenges.
Over the past 75 years, together we have achieved more than we could have achieved separately, he stressed.
“As we move into the next 75 years and our world becomes increasingly connected, let’s strengthen those ties, so that we can better protect and serve the people we serve?, he added.
The General Assembly is considered the most democratic body of the UN as it brings together the 193 member countries on equal terms.
