Malaysia urges reforms at UN to end conflicts

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Malaysia on Tuesday have called for the UN to be improved and reformed as many people are still suffering due to conflicts, which remain unresolved in various parts of the world.

Addressing the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the bloc, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said UN has somewhat failed to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,” the state news agency Bernama reported.

“While we acknowledge that the organization has done quite well in many areas in its 75 years of existence, especially in promoting social and economic development, we need to be honest and recognize that the UN has somewhat failed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,” the agency quoted Muhyiddin as saying.

The meeting was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the statement was pre-recorded at his office, it said.

The prime minister said the UN is needed now more than ever and should be better equipped, not just with political latitude, but with the continued support of its member states to respond to some of the most salient problems the world is facing.

He said that the time is right for the UN to take stock of its achievements, improve on its weaknesses and remove all obstacles that prevent its continued progress, adding that Malaysia welcomes the adoption of the Declaration for the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the UN.

“We sincerely believe that today’s commemoration presents 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 United Nations we need,” said Muhyiddin.

Muhyiddin also voiced his concern that certain countries have disregarded UN agreements in recent years.

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,” said the prime minister.

Muhyiddin said that unfortunately, in recent years, certain countries disregard such agreements.

“We hope that this stops. We must take heed of what our people want and hope for,” he added.

Muhyiddin recalled that earlier this year, the UN launched the UN75 initiative, inviting people around the world to share their aspirations, hopes and priorities for the future with nearly 40,000 people responding to the UN75 survey within the first three months of its launching.

“This is not to say that the international community has not paid attention to those issues. On the contrary, we have worked especially hard on them over the years,” he added.

In his speech, Muhyiddin also congratulated Volkan Bozkir of Turkey on his election as the president of the 75th session of the UNGA themed The Future We Want, the United Nations We Need: Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment To Multilateralism – Confronting COVID-19 Through Effective Multilateral Action, the report said.

The prime minister also extended Malaysia's appreciation to Bozkir's predecessor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande of Nigeria for his commitment and leadership during a challenging 74th session of the UNGA due to COVID-19, it added.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language services in Jakarta