Secretary Locsin at NAM Conference: “Put people at the core of our global response to pandemic” 

Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (left) addresses the Non-Aligned Movement Midterm Ministerial Conference on 13 July 2021, which was chaired by Minister Jeyhun Bayramov of Azerbaijan (right). (Photo from NYPM)

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, 16 July 2021 — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. highlighted through a virtual message the importance of global solidarity and people-centered responses to recover from the pandemic and resolve global security issues during the two-day Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Mid-term Ministerial Conference (Online), which started today in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Secretary Locsin said that the global response to the pandemic “must put people at the core.” This “means protecting the rights of migrants, regardless of status and nationality, reinforcing healthcare systems, and protecting healthcare workers,” he stressed.

Secretary Locsin pointed out that “if there is any time more critical for multilateralism it is now, as nations struggle to overcome the devastation to societies and individuals wrought by the pandemic.” He recognized NAM’s leadership in persuading countries to adopt a more multilateral response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary also named the COVAX facility as a successful example of international cooperation that has helped distribute vaccines more equitably.

Secretary Locsin also described the unique position and needs of middle-income countries (MICs), like the Philippines. With 75 percent of the world’s population in middle-income countries, he said that a global response and recovery to the pandemic must support the needs of middle-income countries. He recommended that MICs should “have access to programs and funds to address COVID-19.”

Secretary Locsin noted that while the world battles COVID-19, other threats to global security have been developing. “The pandemic altered the global security landscape. Terrorist threats are evolving, and with heightened geo-political tensions, the threat of nuclear war grows,” he said.

To address global challenges like the pandemic, the Political Declaration adopted at this meeting of NAM Ministers notes “the central role played by NAM in mobilizing global efforts, in the spirit of multilateralism, international cooperation and solidarity.” It reaffirms the grouping’s support for multilateral responses to global crises like COVID-19, war, and climate change.

Through the Political Declaration, NAM member countries also reaffirm “that all States shall respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty…and inviolability of international borders.” This sentiment was echoed in statements from many delegations, including Azerbaijan, the current chair of NAM.

In his statement, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan highlighted the celebration this year of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Movement, which he described as “the largest political institution in the UN General Assembly,” and added that “complex global challenges have further increased the relevance of our Movement as advocating for peace, multilateralism and global solidarity lies in the core of the NAM.”

The Non-Aligned Movement is composed of 120 member countries, plus 18 observer countries, with Russia joining today’s meeting as the newest observer.

Read full statement here: https://bit.ly/3B86Wlt   END

For more information, visit https://www.un.int/philippines/ and https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/