Kuwaiti diplomat: UN must address global challenges

As an international organization, the UN must address global challenges and find solutions to world issues of pending nature, said Kuwait permanent delegate to the UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi here late Tuesday. Speaking to KUNA on the 68th Anniversary of the United Nations, known as the UN Day, Ambassador Al-Otaibi stressed the important of the United Nations as an international organization aimed at addressing issues of global importance. The Kuwaiti official lauded the UN involvement in the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, deeming this contribution as one of the key achievements of the organization. Al-Otaibi also commended the UN role in preventing a number of global conflicts and also its humanitarian role. Finding solutions for long pending issues such as the Palestinian cause and ending recent conflicts like the Syrian crisis should be amongst the list of top priorities for the UN, said Al-Otaibi. The Kuwaiti official also touched on Kuwaiti-UN relations, stressing that his country was eager to play an integral part in UN international efforts concerning humanitarian aid and development. In his speech marking this occasion, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN Day is a chance to recognize how much this "invaluable" Organization contributed to peace and common progress. He said "it is a time to reflect on what more we can do to realize our vision for a better world," recalling with disappointment that the fighting in Syria is "our biggest security challenge." He noted that millions of Syrians depend on UN humanitarian personnel for life-saving assistance, while political leaders are pushing for a diplomatic solution to end their suffering that "has gone on far too long, and UN experts are working hand-in-hand with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to destroy the country's stockpiles. Ban also said that the international community's "most urgent development challenge is to make sustainability a reality," noting that the Millennium Development Goals have cut poverty in half ahead of the 2015 deadline. "Now we must maintain the momentum, craft an equally inspiring post-2015 development agenda and reach an agreement on climate change," he urged in his televised message. He expressed satisfaction that this year again, the international community saw the United Nations come together on armed conflict, human rights, the environment and many other issues. "We continue to show what collective action can do. We can do even more," he vowed. "In a world that is more connected, we must be more united." "On United Nations Day, let us pledge to live up to our founding ideals and work together for peace, development and human rights," he concluded. UN officials said this year, contrary to the annual practice, there will be no concert on UN Day, Thursday, but Ban, UN officials and diplomats, will be in Times Square, Manhattan's midtown touristic attraction, to witness the electronic billboards display UN Day flash ads and run UN information