Niël Terblanché
The United Nations headquarters in New York are currently in full preparation for the upcoming 79th session of the UN General Assembly, which starts on 10 September.
The general assembly brings together world leaders to address pressing international issues.
Various preparatory meetings and discussions are taking place in the lead-up to the high-level week, starting on 22 September.
These include sessions focused on finalising agendas and strategies for key topics such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate action, and global security challenges.
In this regard, the minister of international relations and cooperation, Dr. Peya Mushelenga, announced that one of the events planned during this period is the “Summit of the Future” on 22 and 23 September which aims to strengthen international cooperation and introduce new frameworks like the “Pact for the Future” and the “Global Digital Compact.”
These activities are part of the UN’s ongoing efforts to address global challenges through multilateral engagement and the creation of robust partnerships.
The Windhoek Observer reported incorrectly that Namibia and Germany will co-host the Summit of the Future in Windhoek.
The summit will, in actuality, be hosted in New York on the side of the UN General Assembly.
The Windhoek Observer sincerely apologises for the mistake.
In the meantime, Namibia is actively participating in the preparatory meetings and discussions at the UN headquarters in New York leading up to the general assembly.
It was during one such session at the start of this week that Mushelenga joined other African representatives in demanding that the continent be permanently represented on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Mushelenga informed participants in the high-level discussion that Namibia is aligned with the African position as articulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration and that the country is demanding two permanent seats with all the privileges and prerogatives extended to the current permanent members, as well as two additional non-permanent seats on the UNSC.
“Africa cannot continue to stand as a passive spectator in the global political field,” he said while stressing that the current geopolitical power distribution sidelines an entire continent from crucial decision-making processes. Maintaining the status quo impedes democratic global governance, contradicting the fundamental principles upon which the United Nations is founded,” he said during the session.
He told the assembly that the push for UNSC reform is about the principles of justice, equality, and democracy that the United Nations was founded upon.
