The Maldives has proposed five main areas of focus for the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid made the proposal while delivering the national statement of the Maldives at the General Debate of the 77th Session of the UNGA.
In his statement, Minister Shahid said the first area of focus should be the climate crisis, which remains an existential threat, especially to small island developing states (SIDS), as they would be greatly affected by a difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees. He said the Maldives will internationally continue to lead the way in climate action, and in doing so, will continue to advocate for a rights-based approach. He reiterated the Maldives is once again competing for a seat on the Human Rights Council for the term running 2023 to 2025 and addressing climate change as an integral part of the global human rights discourse will be among the top priorities if elected. He highlighted the Maldives has the most ambitious climate action targets and is pursuing an ambitious national plan to reach net zero by 2030. He also said the Maldives launched the Glasgow-Sharm El-Sheikh Work Programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation in the Maldives, with a view to supporting global action.
Furthermore, Minister Shahid highlighted the urgent need to protect the ocean, as the Maldives has deep cultural and traditional links to the ocean. He said this is why the Maldives supports the global initiative to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, adding the country has designated seventy-nine marine-protected areas, including 14% of coral reefs. He detailed the country has also implemented a ban on the importation, production, and sale of several types of single-use plastics and has set a national target to fully phase out single-use plastics by 2030. Shedding light on the need for sustainable climate financing, he said an ambitious pledge was made in 2009, that USD100 billion in climate financing would be mobilised by 2020. He expressed concern that the pledge has fallen short even in 2022, and urged partners to scale up their efforts to make up the difference.
Additionally, Minister Shahid revealed the third area of focus should be gender equality, as the world cannot solve the challenges facing all of humanity while half of humanity is denied their full potential. He said the Maldives is advancing many legislative and executive initiatives to advance women’s representation and the government has passed legislation to allocate 33% of the local council seats to women. He added that women have been appointed as Supreme Court justices for the first time and half of the ambassadors are women.
Minister Shahid further said the fourth area of focus should be to solve the peace and security challenges by working harder to stop conflicts and the flagrant violations of international norms undermining the multilateral system built in the past 77 years. He emphasised the people of Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Myanmar, among other countries, plunged into conflict and bloodshed, deserve peace, as do the people of Palestine. He said a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, is the only meaningful solution for lasting peace. He added the Maldives condemns terrorism in all its forms and will work with the international community to comprehensively combat both terrorism and violent ideologies.
Urging the UN should reform the multilateral system and better equip itself to meet contemporary and future challenges, Minister Shahid also said welcomed the recent adoption of a resolution to establish the UN Youth Office by consensus, carrying forward one of the Our Common Agenda (OCA’s) most important recommendations. He said another critical aspect of revitalising the UN should be reforming the Security Council, a goal the Maldives has advocated for decades.
In concluding his statement, Minister Shahid said the Maldives has always believed that the small size of the country should not diminish its standing in the international arena and that a rules-based international order, where all states have a voice and are fairly represented and included, is necessary. He said member states can meet the challenges together to usher in a brighter future for humanity, adding the Maldives will continue to work alongside its peer nations in the international community to deliver that vision.