🇿🇦 South Africa - President Addresses United Nations General Debate, 76th Session (English) | #UNGA

Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, addresses the general debate of the 76th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (New York, 21-27 September 2021).

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that It is “an indictment on humanity” that more than 82 per cent of the world’s COIVD-19 vaccine doses have been acquired by wealthy countries, while less than one per cent has gone to low-income countries. He added "unless we address this as a matter of urgency, the pandemic will last much longer and new mutations of the virus will emerge.”

In a pre-recorded video message to the General Assembly Debate today (23 Sep), the South African President reaffirmed his call for “fair and equitable distribution of vaccines.”

President Ramaphosa urged all Member States to “support the proposal for a temporary waiver of certain provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to allow more countries, particularly low- and middle-income countries, to produce COVID-19 vaccines. In this interconnected world, no country is safe until every country is safe.”

On climate change, the South African President said, “Climate change is an existential crisis for the entire world, yet poor countries are particularly vulnerable.”

He continued, “although we bear the least responsibility for causing climate change, African countries are among those that carry the greatest cost.”

For the forthcoming COP 26 in Glasgow to respond adequately to the crisis we face, President Ramaphosa said, “we need to see greater ambition and progress on mitigation, adaptation and the means of implementation.”

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main policy-making organ of the Organization. Comprising all Member States, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations. Each of the 193 Member States of the United Nations has an equal vote.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 Member States, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.

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But one thing has stayed the same: it remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.

General debate website: https://gadebate.un.org/

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