🇳🇵 Nepal - Prime Minister Addresses United Nations General Assembly 81st Session | #UNGA — Transcript

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1. 0:09The assembly will hear an address by His
2. 0:11Excellency Bel Bahadur Shah, Prime
3. 0:13Minister of Nepal.
4. 0:15I request protocol to escort His
5. 0:17Excellency and invite him to address the
6. 0:19assembly.
7. 0:28>> [applause]
8. 0:38>> Mr. President,
9. 0:40Mr. Secretary General, excellencies,
10. 0:43distinguished delegates,
11. 0:45ladies and gentlemen, I come before you
12. 0:48from
13. 0:48Nepal,
14. 0:50a distant country in Himalayas, carrying
15. 0:52a close warning for humanity.
16. 0:55I wish I could stand here today simply
17. 0:56to talk about
18. 0:58development, democracy,
19. 1:00peace, and the hopes of a new young
20. 1:02nation.
21. 1:03Instead, I must speak about death
22. 1:06and destruction of epic proportion.
23. 1:09About families
24. 1:10waiting for loved ones
25. 1:12who will never come home.
26. 1:14About communities
27. 1:15searching through the mud, rocks,
28. 1:18water for the people's bodies
29. 1:21may never be recovered.
30. 1:23About bridges,
31. 1:24about roads, schools, homes, livelihood
32. 1:28swept away in minutes.
33. 1:30About a country whose steady progress to
34. 1:32achieve sustainable development goals
35. 1:33has been interrupted.
36. 1:354 weeks ago, the world saw shocking
37. 1:38images of catastrophic floods floods
38. 1:40that swept away Nepal's mountain
39. 1:42communities with ferocity many have
40. 1:44called
41. 1:45mountain tsunami or Himalayan tsunami.
42. 1:48The Bhotekoshi Trishuli disaster was not
43. 1:50just a local tragedy.
44. 1:52It was a warning to the world. And I ask
45. 1:55you today,
46. 1:56have you really heard that warning?
47. 1:58Nearly 3 years ago, standing in the
48. 2:00shadow of our Mount Everest,
49. 2:02the Secretary General of United Nations
50. 2:04warned humanity about the madness and
51. 2:06impending climate disaster.
52. 2:09That cry from the rooftop of the world
53. 2:11was not heard enough loudly.
54. 2:14We in Nepal heard it. Our communities
55. 2:16heard it. Scientists around the world
56. 2:18heard it. They repeated it with
57. 2:20evidence.
58. 2:21But we, the political leaders,
59. 2:24have been negligent to translate those
60. 2:26warning into action at the speed and
61. 2:28scale that the vulnerable people
62. 2:30require.
63. 2:31Last month, we saw the tragic
64. 2:32consequences.
65. 2:34A warming climate that that is
66. 2:36destabilizing the fragile Himalayan
67. 2:38ecology, melting permafrost
68. 2:40that are fracturing mountains, slopes
69. 2:43beneath the glaciers, and accelerating
70. 2:44the risk of ice rock avalanche,
71. 2:47floods, landslides, and other cascading
72. 2:50hazards.
73. 2:51The resulting devastated
74. 2:53The resulting devastation unleashed
75. 2:56havoc on both sides of Nepal-China
76. 2:57border. The flood continued downstream
77. 3:00to the India.
78. 3:01This tells us us something fundamental.
79. 3:04Climate change does not recognize
80. 3:06borders. Glaciers and floods do not
81. 3:08travel with
82. 3:09stamps and passports.
83. 3:11Excellencies,
84. 3:12I'm not here to complain, but to share
85. 3:14some suggestions.
86. 3:15First, I wish to express Nepal's deep
87. 3:18gratitude to all those who came to our
88. 3:20aid aftermath of the deluge.
89. 3:22Our immediate neighbors, India and
90. 3:24China, offered prompt and generous
91. 3:26assistance.
92. 3:27Other friendly countries, the United
93. 3:29Nations system, humanitarian agencies,
94. 3:31philanthropies, and people around the
95. 3:33world stood with Nepal.
96. 3:35To all of them, I say thank you on the
97. 3:37behalf of grateful people of Nepal.
98. 3:42>> [applause]
99. 3:47>> Nepal now faces a massive task of
100. 3:49recovery and reconstruction.
101. 3:52After at 1,400 deaths
102. 3:54and over 16 6,000 people still missing,
103. 3:57a rapid assessment pegged physical
104. 3:59recovery needs at about 10% of GDP.
105. 4:03As in rebuilding after my post-disaster
106. 4:05like 2015 Gorkha earthquake, we count on
107. 4:08your solidarity and support.
108. 4:10But we must also understand why this
109. 4:12disaster
110. 4:13matters beyond Nepal.
111. 4:15Nepal contributes less than 0.1% of
112. 4:18global greenhouse gas emission.
113. 4:20We did not create this crisis, yet we
114. 4:23are paying for
115. 4:24yet we are paying a colossal price for
116. 4:26it.
117. 4:27Our glaciers are retreating, our
118. 4:29mountain slopes are becoming unstable,
119. 4:32our rivers are becoming less
120. 4:33predictable,
121. 4:34and every major disaster threatens to
122. 4:36the to erase years of development.
123. 4:39For Nepal, climate catastrophe is not
124. 4:40just a humanitarian event, but a
125. 4:43development emergency.
126. 4:45It destroys roads, bridges, schools,
127. 4:47homes, farms, and livelihoods.
128. 4:50It destroys clean energy infrastructure
129. 4:52that we need to fuel our future.
130. 4:55And And it forces a poor
131. 4:57country to borrow money to repair damage
132. 4:59it did not cause.
133. 5:02But we are not here to blame any country
134. 5:04or continent. We are here
135. 5:08We are not here to turn climate change
136. 5:11into another geopolitical battlefield.
137. 5:13We are here to ask everyone to recommit
138. 5:16to share responsibility and solidarity.
139. 5:19Through the United Nations Framework
140. 5:21Convention on Climate Change, the
141. 5:23international community has already
142. 5:24agreed to the principle of common
143. 5:27differentiated responsibility and
144. 5:29respective capabilities.
145. 5:31Those who have historically contributed
146. 5:33more to the problem and those with
147. 5:34greater capacity to respond must do
148. 5:37more.
149. 5:39Climate justice cannot remain a
150. 5:41beautiful phrase in United Nations
151. 5:42document.
152. 5:44People of our country be allowed to
153. 5:45build their future instead of constantly
154. 5:47rebuilding their past.
155. 5:49Excellencies, the Hindu Kush Himalaya is
156. 5:51home to nearly 2 billion people.
157. 5:53These mountains provide water,
158. 5:55ecosystem, agriculture, and livelihood
159. 5:57to population far beyond Nepal.
160. 6:00The Himalayas are not peripheral to the
161. 6:02planet. They are part of planet's life
162. 6:04support system.
163. 6:06That is why, as an urgent first step, we
164. 6:08propose that we establish Himalaya
165. 6:11climate resilience mechanism led by
166. 6:13Nepal, India, and China.
167. 6:16Through this mechanism,
168. 6:22through this mechanism, let us share
169. 6:24satellite data and expertise. Let us
170. 6:26monitor dangerous glacial lakes.
171. 6:29Let us strengthen joint early warning
172. 6:30systems. And when disaster strikes, let
173. 6:33us coordinate assistance across borders.
174. 6:36Let the Himalayas become laboratory of
175. 6:38international cooperation rather than
176. 6:40frontier of fragmented information.
177. 6:43Remark- remarkable for at least
178. 6:45developed country,
179. 6:46Nepal is already paying a global role
180. 6:48exceeding its ecological share. We have
181. 6:51restored forest cover nearly half of our
182. 6:54territory. We are installing hydropower
183. 6:56at a pace enough to power all clean
184. 6:57energy needs and displace dirty sources
185. 7:00abroad.
186. 7:01We are promoting electric mobility with
187. 7:03an adoption rate to match parts of
188. 7:06Europe. We are strengthening climate
189. 7:08adaptation at local level, and we shall
190. 7:10do more to withstand increasing
191. 7:12intensity and frequency of climate
192. 7:14disaster.
193. 7:15But Nepal cannot build resilience alone
194. 7:18against the crisis made worse by the
195. 7:19failure of global governance.
196. 7:21This is why this is This is why this
197. 7:23assembly must note six words:
198. 7:26relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction,
199. 7:29and also responsibility, reparation,
200. 7:32resilience. The first three are what we
201. 7:35need after disaster.
202. 7:37The second three are what we need to
203. 7:39ensure that disaster does not become a
204. 7:41permanent condition. When a
205. 7:42climate-driven disaster destroys
206. 7:44infrastructure of a poor country,
207. 7:46the answer cannot simply be another mega
208. 7:48loan or a patchwork of small grants.
209. 7:51We need adequate grant-based support.
210. 8:00We need adequate grant-based support
211. 8:02from the world. The loss and damage
212. 8:03fund, the Global Environment Facility,
213. 8:06and other financing mechanism remain
214. 8:08grossly inadequate.
215. 8:10Climate finance must not become
216. 8:11bureaucratic
217. 8:13another bureaucratic maze through which
218. 8:15vulnerable countries spend years that
219. 8:17they need help.
220. 8:19When the house is burning, we do not ask
221. 8:21family to complete 50 forms. We act.
222. 8:24This is what climate justice must mean.
223. 8:27Excellencies, this brings me to a larger
224. 8:29question. What kind of international
225. 8:31order do you want?
226. 8:33The United Nation was born from
227. 8:34humanity's experience of horrific world
228. 8:36war.
229. 8:37It prom- Its promise was the sovereignty
230. 8:40would matter.
231. 8:42International law would matter.
232. 8:43The dignity of every human being would
233. 8:45matter.
234. 8:46And the weak would not simply have to
235. 8:48accept whatever the powerful decide.
236. 8:51Today, that international system is
237. 8:53under strain.
238. 8:54Too often, military and economic power
239. 8:56determines whose vo- whose voice is
240. 8:58heard.
241. 8:59Nepal believes we need much fairer
242. 9:01global economic order.
243. 9:03In 1994, UNDP's Human Development Report
244. 9:06conceptualized the notion of human
245. 9:08insecurity.
246. 9:10It equated security with people rather
247. 9:12than territories and with development
248. 9:14rather than arms.
249. 9:16It called for the peace dividend to
250. 9:18secure freedoms from fear and want. The
251. 9:21new majority government in Nepal,
252. 9:22elected through
253. 9:24the fairest and most peaceful elections
254. 9:26in our history this March, has had to
255. 9:28weather many international
256. 9:30adversities since.
257. 9:32When a poor farmer in Nepal
258. 9:34went to sow her seeds in monsoon,
259. 9:37fertilizers didn't reach her on time.
260. 9:39When we wanted to pay for new highway,
261. 9:41there was no vitamin.
262. 9:42When a family sat down for an evening
263. 9:44meal, there was shortage of cooking gas.
264. 9:47On the On the one hand, there are
265. 9:49melting glaciers and failing harvest to
266. 9:51floods arriving without warning.
267. 9:53On the other hand, a global supply chain
268. 9:55punishes poor people for causes beyond
269. 9:58reason.
270. 9:59Intercontinental missiles arrive on
271. 10:01time. Rifles and ammunitions cross
272. 10:04border, get every bottle neck, meet each
273. 10:06deadline. But a peasant in Nepal cannot
274. 10:08procure his fertilizer or fuel at market
275. 10:11price at a time of need.
276. 10:14We have built a world with flawless
277. 10:25We have built a world with flawless
278. 10:27logistics for war and broken logistics
279. 10:30for food.
280. 10:31And this is not Nepal's private
281. 10:32misfortune. Ask Bangladesh, ask Bhutan,
282. 10:35ask India, ask the Maldives, ask
283. 10:38Pakistan, ask Sri Lanka. Ask any other
284. 10:41country in our region and you'll hear
285. 10:42the same account.
286. 10:44Hit by the climate we did not warm and
287. 10:46again hit by the wars we did not start.
288. 10:53This tells us
289. 10:54there is a lot more broken than meets
290. 10:56the eye in the global
291. 10:58cooperation.
292. 10:59Excellencies, I am told I'm the youngest
293. 11:01head of government to address this
294. 11:03assembly this year.
295. 11:07>> [cheering]
296. 11:08[applause]
297. 11:11>> I did not come here
298. 11:13to make that a story. I came to make
299. 11:15sure what whatever else is said from
300. 11:17this podium, one thing is said plainly.
301. 11:19A country that is willing to pay should
302. 11:21be able to buy
303. 11:23and the world that is and the and the
304. 11:25world that can deliver a weapon anywhere
305. 11:27in 72 hours has no excuse for leaving a
306. 11:29farmer without means of decent
307. 11:31livelihood.
308. 11:37This is why we believe
309. 11:38in multilateralism. This is why we need
310. 11:41United Nations in which presence of
311. 11:43small poor country is felt and we can
312. 11:45work together towards outcomes.
313. 11:47Climate justice is therefore not only
314. 11:49about money.
315. 11:50It is about distributive justice, who
316. 11:52bears the cost. It is about procedural
317. 11:54justice, who has a voice.
318. 11:56It is about It is about whether future
319. 11:59of mountain communities, small island
320. 12:01states, landlocked and least developed
321. 12:03countries, and generation yet unborn
322. 12:06count equally.
323. 12:07Starting tomorrow at the Sagarmatha to
324. 12:09Seaside event right here at the United
325. 12:11Nations, Nepal is ready to help lead
326. 12:13this conversation.
327. 12:14Mr. President and excellencies,
328. 12:17we are at this General Assembly at the
329. 12:18moment of profound global uncertainty.
330. 12:21And with a renewed democratic mandate
331. 12:24that reflects the aspiration of new
332. 12:26generation,
333. 12:27our youths have
334. 12:28demanded a politics of integrity and
335. 12:30accountability.
336. 12:32The generational shift is not only a
337. 12:34national story. It is part of global
338. 12:36awakening against conflict, inequities,
339. 12:39and lack of opportunities.
340. 12:41The commitment of my government is
341. 12:43clear, to build a state that delivers
342. 12:46decent jobs, social protection, and a
343. 12:48fair chance to every Nepali to thrive at
344. 12:51home.
345. 12:52The Nepal floods signal a future shaped
346. 12:58The Nepal flood signals a future shaped
347. 13:00by rising climate extremes.
348. 13:02Our baselines are no longer relevant.
349. 13:06And we must move from ad hoc responses
350. 13:07to a culture of preparedness.
351. 13:09Let us finance resilience and invest in
352. 13:12insurance and innovation.
353. 13:14Let us build stronger infrastructure and
354. 13:16institutions.
355. 13:18Let us reduce fossil fuel dependence.
356. 13:20Let us build system that warn, alert,
357. 13:22and save lives.
358. 13:24Let us reform the order that leaves the
359. 13:25weakest with least power.
360. 13:28And when the next warning comes from the
361. 13:29rooftop of the world, let us be ready to
362. 13:32hear it and ready to act.
363. 13:47>> [applause]
364. 13:56[applause]
365. 13:58>> On behalf of the assembly, I wish to
366. 13:59thank the Prime Minister of Nepal.