The United Nations (UN) must implement bold reforms to effectively fulfill its mandate of ensuring peace, security, human rights protection, as well as better address challenges arising from the coronavirus pandemic, President Duterte said early Wednesday.
(Photo by Manuel ELIAS / UNITED NATIONS / AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
The President used his debut at the virtual UN General Assembly to press for reforms that will change the UN's "business as usual" approach and instead strengthen and streamline the international organization.
"The UN remains humanity’s essential organization. But it is only as effective as we make it," Duterte said in a video message at the global body marking its 75th anniversary.
"To make significant changes, we need to be bold. We need the same collective courage that finally made the United Nations a reality 75 years ago," he added.
Duterte has called for action "on long-standing recommendations to improve the Security Council’s composition and working methods, to strengthen the role of the General Assembly, and to streamline the processes and the operations of the UN."
"Indeed, to be ready for the new global normal, it cannot be business as usual for the UN," he said.
"Let us empower the UN, reform it, to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow," he added.
The UN must also be strengthened to fully deliver its mandate to maintain peace and security, uphold justice and human rights, and promote freedom and social progress for all, according to the President.
Duterte also pointed to the coronavirus pandemic as the biggest test the world and the United Nations faced since World War II. He said the invisible enemy has caused "a crisis without precedent."
"While the United Nations has brought relief and hope to so many countries and peoples around the world, it now finds itself saddled by a virus that has taken many lives and wrecked economies and social order," he said.
With the world now at a crossroads, Duterte said how the world addresses the pandemic will define its future.
"For the Philippines, this means putting up all of the peoples of our united nations at the core of this response," he said.
"We will need to ask hard and fundamental questions about the vision and mission that the United Nations conceptualized 75 years ago. We need to ask ourselves whether or not we have remained true and faithful to the United Nations’ principles and ideals," he added.
President Duterte previously branded the UN as "inutile" for supposedly failing to prevent wars and impose punitive action on sea piracy. He had earlier lashed out at the UN for criticizing his war on drugs but keeping silent on atrocities in other parts of the world.
The UN, established in 1945 after World War II with the initial goal of keeping world peace, is composed of 193 member-states. World leaders gathered virtually to mark the milestone of the international organization and delivered their addresses through video.