Union Minister U Kyaw Tin delivers a statement via video link at the High-level Meeting to commemorate 75th anniversary of the United Nations
22 September 2020
Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin delivered a statement via video link at the High-level Meeting to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations held on 21 September 2020 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Leaders and high-level representatives from UN Member States participated in the meeting under the theme “The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism”. The meeting adopted “Declaration on the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations”.
Union Minister’s full statement is as follows:
Mr. President,
Distinguished delegates,
It is a great honour for me to participate in this High-level Meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
Multilateralism is indeed under great strain at a time when global challenges need greater global solidarity and global cooperation.
The world today is getting more polarized; geopolitical and economic tensions are rising high. Above all else, we are now faced with the COVID-19 crisis which is putting immense pressure on our societies and economies. It has caused loss of jobs and livelihoods, exacerbated poverty, disrupted education, and the hardest hit have been the most vulnerable. At this critical time, the world is more than ever in need of a stronger multilateral system for a collective response to this most consequential challenge in its history.
Notwithstanding the challenges facing us today, we can say that the sustained efforts of the multilateral system, with United Nations at its heart, have contributed significantly to make the world a better place than it was 75 years ago. Major wars have been deterred, millions of people have been lifted out of extreme poverty and hunger, and average life expectancy is now higher than ever before. There is no other institution we can think that could replace the United Nations.
Mr. President,
Myanmar joined this family of Nations as its 58th member soon after we regained independence in 1948 and our belief in the Charter of the United Nations was solid. Cooperation with the United Nations has been a cornerstone of Myanmar’s Foreign Policy. Myanmar has never shirked its responsibilities in fulfilling the purposes and principles of the United Nations as enshrined in its Charter, and in rendering its cooperation in good faith. One of our country’s great contributions to the UN was the noble service of a Myanmar diplomat U Thant, the third Secretary-General of the UN, who managed to avert serious crises at the height of the Cold War and spearheaded the Organization towards world peace. He was a true representative of the peace-loving people of Myanmar.
Mr. President,
Myanmar is undergoing a complex democratic transition with multiple challenges as we work towards national reconciliation, peace and development to build a democratic federal union. These efforts have been further complicated by mounting external challenges rising out of conflict-related human rights issues. We firmly believe that the constructive engagement of the international community is the only viable way to overcome challenges of this nature. Mutual trust is key to the success of cooperation between the UN and its member States.
Myanmar thanks all its partners including the UN system, for assistance that has been rendered towards the achievement of the goals set out in the Myanmar Sustainable Development Programme (MSDP).
Mr. President,
The United Nations must remain a beacon of hope for developing countries like Myanmar. We therefore need to reinvigorate the UN to be more responsive to the needs and priorities of sovereign member states.
We wish to see the UN evolve as a trusted partner that protects smaller nations and helps not hinders, their efforts to overcome their challenges.
We need a UN that helps strengthen the capacity of member states to resolve their own problems.
We believe that the UN should be a platform for global engagement for all nations, for the good of all humanity, not a system where the value of nations is decided by the degree of political and material power they can muster.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is our latest wake-up call for strong multilateralism, and greater cooperation and solidarity among nations to address the economic and social repercussions that will continue to unfold in the coming years.
At this extraordinary juncture, we must use this historic opportunity of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations to strive together for an open, transparent and rules-based multilateralism with all Member States adhering to the core values of the UN Charter; a just and equitable multilateralism ensuring that the voices of all Member States are equally heard; and an effective multilateralism to overcome the most formidable challenges we may need to face now, and in the future.
We must work together to shape the future we want through a more equitable multilateralism fostered by the United Nations we need.
I thank you, Mr. President.
