United Nations General Assembly’s outgoing president Abdulla Shahid called on the member states to “not lose hope and give into cynicism” or “turn our backs on those who look to us at the United Nations for solutions”.
He added that the aspirations and future of the next generation are worth fighting for as he called on the member states to use the instruments at their disposal to secure global peace and justice.
He was addressing the closing ceremony of the UN General Assembly’s 76th session on Monday. While he performed his prestigious UN assignment as the President of UNGA, he also played a greater role, reaching out and engaging with the international communities as the foreign minister of the Maldives.
Highlights of the Presidency
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his address at the closing ceremony highlighted the accomplishments of the global body last year, said, it would not have been possible without Shahid. “His ‘presidency of hope’ delivered exactly that– hope that we can come together and face the challenges before us, in solidarity,” said Guterres, thanking Shahid for his “strong stewardship”.
Under the leadership of Shahid, Assembly adopted a total of 307 resolutions and 140 decisions. This includes addressing issues such as the state of global food insecurity, reaffirming the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, adopting the “Space2030” Agenda, stressing the role of space exploration as a driver of sustainable development, elevating pandemic prevention, preparedness and response to the highest level of political leadership to build resilient health systems, and establishing the International Day of Women in Diplomacy.
President Shahid convened a total of 103 formal plenary meetings of the General Assembly, 15 High-level Meetings and a further 28 informal plenary meetings, hearings, thematic debates and other events. In addition, around 98 intergovernmental consultations and informal, informal meetings were held as part of intergovernmental negotiation processes.
According to the officials from the UN, in line with relevant resolutions and decisions by the Assembly, 15 mandated intergovernmental negotiation processes on behalf of the President of the General Assembly took place, for which 27 co-facilitators or co-chairs were appointed by the PGA. The President’s Office also conducted negotiations for the outcome document of the High-level meeting on improving global road safety.
He convened the inaugural International Migration Review Forum, finalized arrangements and facilitated preparations for Stockholm +50 international meeting, as well as the 2022 Oceans Conference and convened the *11 meetings of the 11th Emergency Special Session.
Maldives on global map
The Maldives immensely benefited from this experience, as the Government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih promised to re-engage with the international community and Minister Shahid’s Presidency demonstrated that Maldives is back.
“The relationships we have cultivated over the past year in this role, will be beneficial for the conduct of Maldives foreign policy in the long run. Maldives now remains as a reliable partner for the international community will certainly,” Shahid said.
A total of 9 dialogues were held, under the label ‘Holhuashi’, a Maldivian term for a place for informal communal gatherings, with the aim of creating opportunities for dialogue on issues related to the work of the General Assembly.
One of the initiatives he took under his stewardship is holding the first ever High-level Thematic Debate on ‘Putting sustainable and resilient tourism at the heart of an inclusive recovery’ was held, in collaboration with UNWTO. The discussion focused of prioritizing on tourism.
Climate Change and Gender Equality
He also convened a ‘Moment for Nature’ debate to examine interconnected environmental threats & to accelerate support to achieve the 1.5 degrees °C target. He further pushed for a High-Level Dialogue on climate action ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.
Gender equality remained at the heart of Minister’s ‘Presidency of Hope’, which was based on 5 rays of Hope, each ray which can be seen through a gender lens.
He led a greater debate for a woman to be the next UN Secretary General. Along, in line, he appointed a special Adviser on Gender Equality to mainstream women empowerment in his Five Rays of Hope, expanding of 9 lactation rooms at the UNHQ.
One of the notable programmes in partnership with UN Women, Minister Shahid launched the UNGA Platform of Women Leaders, institutionalizing for the very first time in UN history, the hosting of a dedicated meeting of women Head of Government and States.