ZAGREB, September 22, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the UN, that it was necessary to "make the United Nations fit for the 21st century" and called for reforming the Security Council and combating climate change.
"Today we live in a much different world than 75 years ago. The technological revolution changed and improved our lives beyond comparison. Yet the scourge that plagued the world in the autumn of 1945, the hunger and poverty, the disease and refugees, still burdens parts of our planet," the prime minister said in a video message.
The UN has 193 member states and Croatia has been one since 22 May 1992.
Plenkovic said "unprecedented progress has been achieved in the past 75 years."
"Whereas two out of three people lived in extreme poverty at the end of the Second World War, today this share has fallen to less than one in ten, and by 2030 this should fall under one in 16," he added.
But the world is facing new challenges and it is necessary to revitalise the UN, he said, calling this year's General Assembly session "a springboard for that."
"We must make the United Nations fit for the 21st century... The revitalisation of the United Nations's work has to go beyond the General Assembly. Reform of the Security Council is long overdue. Our historical anniversary should also be an occasion for revisiting the UN Charter to meet the needs and realities of the new era."
Plenkovic also called for combating climate change, saying "climate change is one of the pivotal fields for the future of humanity. This is where we cannot afford to fail. We have to adjust to new realities, find the way to meet new challenges... achieve all Sustainable Development Goals and avoid the pitfalls of the past."
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