In a powerful address, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has illustrated the urgent global crisis using a compelling world chart. The chart starkly displayed countries marked in red, indicating those grappling with serious challenges, while green—representing stability—was nearly absent. This visual effectively underscored a crucial truth: humanity is in crisis, often due to man-made factors.
As he addressed the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the President emphasised the myriad issues facing the world today: conflict, poverty, hunger, climate change, the wealth gap, the cost-of-living crisis, migration, and addiction. He urged the international community to acknowledge these pressing challenges and take decisive action.
The President called for nations to unite in harmony rather than remain a United Nations in misery. He stressed that these are critical times that demand a proactive response to address threats that transcend borders, including armed conflict, terrorism, and organized crime. Safeguarding fundamental rights, he argued, is integral to this effort.
The President condemned the ongoing genocide in Gaza as a travesty of justice, highlighting the destruction of homes, hospitals, and lives. He called for accountability, urging the international community to recognize and support the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In a significant moment, he welcomed the decision to allow Palestinian representatives to sit with the assembly for the first time, asserting that now is the time to ensure Palestine becomes a full member of the UN.
Reflecting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed in 2015, he lamented that six years later, we are on track for less than one-fifth of those targets. The recent UN report highlighted that the world is failing to deliver on these commitments. “We cannot allow ‘A Pact for the Future’ to become just another document,” he stated, urging action rather than empty pledges.