Press Release
Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Mr. K P Sharma Oli addressed, through a pre-recorded video, the General Debate of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly today.
The Prime Minister said that the impact of current pandemic on lives, livelihoods, societies and economies had been colossal. He stated that protecting people from both disease and hunger was the supreme duty of the Governments and underlined the need to ensure affordable and universal access to COVID-19 vaccine once it was developed.
He underscored that the prospects of peace and sustainable development remained an unfulfilled aspiration in many parts of the world due to the challenges such as poverty, arms race, geo-political rivalries, terrorism, trade tensions, global inequality, and disasters. The invisible virus has only made the severity of these maladies visible, he said.
The Prime Minister further underlined the disproportionate challenges facing the countries like LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs due to halt in tourism and remittances, and disruptions in supply chains. Expressing concerns that the hard-earned development gains were at risk, he stressed the need to make the timely realization of SDGs the fulcrum of our actions, compass of our aspiration, and signpost of our recovery efforts.
He reiterated Nepal’s longstanding position on the resolution of conflicts through peaceful means, with national leadership and ownership of the countries affected by conflicts. The world needs more masks, not muskets; more protective equipment, not destructive weapons; and more social spending to save lives, not military spending to destroy lives, the Prime Minister contended.
Referring to Nepal’s partnership in UN peace operations, he underscored the importance of safety, security and dignity of peacekeepers.
He said that the climate crisis was an existential threat to humanity and called for robust climate action and access to climate financing including through the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. Mentioning the ‘organic link’ between mountains and oceans in maintaining the natural climate cycle, he highlighted the contributions of Nepal’s mountains and forests as environmental purifiers.
The Prime Minister stressed the need for WTO reforms in order to ensure a renewed and revitalized global trading framework from which LDCs and LLDCs could benefit more.
He reaffirmed Nepal’s total and unwavering commitment to promoting human rights at national and international levels, and requested the UN Member States to support Nepal’s candidature for re-election to the Human Rights Council for the term 2021-23.
The Prime Minister stated that Nepal’s development vision was guided by the national aspiration of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’ that underpinned the values and notions of the 2030 Agenda and comprehensive democracy. He also shed light on the recent achievements made by Nepal in infrastructure development, energy access, education, social protection and good governance, among others.
The Prime Minister also outlined Nepal’s foreign policy objectives and said that enhancing its relations with neighbours and all other countries based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and justice remained a top priority.
He expressed Nepal’s enduring faith in multilateralism with United Nations at the centre, and called for reforms to make the UN more efficient, effective, inclusive and transparent.
He stated that the historic 75th anniversary of the UN was a time to muster stronger political will for enhanced international cooperation and solidarity for a more equitable, just and safer world.
The General Debate of the 75th Session of UNGA is being held at UN Headquarters in New York from 22 to 29 September. The theme of this year’s General Debate is ‘The future we want, and the UN we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism – confronting COVID-19 through effective multilateral action’.
A total of 195 leaders including 115 Heads of State and 58 Heads of Government are scheduled to address the General Debate this year.
Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations
New York
25 September 2020
