Iran Press/ America: "As the international community faces the most difficult challenges of the twenty-first century, Member States must collaborate and make use of the functions and mandates of the Economic and Social Council to tackle COVID‑19, its impacts, and the climate crisis," said Botswana's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Collen Vixen Kelapile.
"We need to work together to address these challenges that threaten our progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals," he added.
As the growing gap between the North and the South threatens to further widen inequalities among countries, the Forum and the Council gave new impetus to support least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing States, which have been hit hard by the crisis. Ensuring equitable, universal, and affordable access to the COVID‑19 vaccine is a moral imperative and the only way to overcome the pandemic. As well, financial resources must be mobilized to support developing countries’ recovery.
Addressing those issues and recovering from the pandemic, he said, requires a whole-of-society approach and innovative partnerships engaging Governments, the private sector, civil society, and others. “People must transform the way they live, work, travel, and consume to address the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste,” he emphasized.
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