24 January 2019, New York

Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid told the United Nations Security Council that “we cannot wait for climate change to force us to abandon our identity and lose our homes. We need actions.”

Speaking today at the Council’s Open Debate “Addressing impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security”, initiated by the Dominican Republic, Minister Shahid stressed the need for urgent actions that are consistent with the commitments already made, to reverse the negative impacts of climate change.

Recalling his address to the Security Council twelve years ago, in April 2007 on the same topic, he emphasized that we continue to repeat the same message and debate on the issue, while climate change is destroying economies, livelihoods and entire nations.

Minister Shahid related the potentially catastrophic future for the young generation, to a 5-year old little girl, Aisha from the Maldives. In his address, Minister called on the Security Council and the membership of the UN to work together, to find solutions to drastically reverse the current trends in climate change, to ensure that a future exists for little girls like Aisha and her friends.

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