Five more of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies on Friday spoke up in support of the nation being recognized as a UN member at the organization’s General Assembly.
As the general debate at the assembly continues, leaders from five more of the nation’s diplomatic allies — Kiribati, Saint Lucia, the Solomon Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Belize — took turns calling for Taiwan’s inclusion as a member of the UN.
Kiribati President Taneti Maamau said that if the UN is incomplete, discussions regarding the promotion of human welfare cannot take place.
Photo: CNA
Although the UN preaches inclusivity and unity every year at the general assembly, “we have chosen to ignore Taiwan’s 23 million people, depriving them of their right to be a part of this global family and to participate and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs],” he said.
On behalf of Kiribati, Maamau asked the UN to allow Taiwan to be a member of the UN.
Taiwan’s exclusion was also a recurring theme in other leaders’ speeches.
The UN is contradicting its principle of “leaving no one behind” in its promotion of the SDGs, as it has let Taiwan’s people slip through the cracks, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said.
Taiwan is willing and ready to contribute to human welfare, he said, adding that the attainment of the SDGs requires the participation of the entire world.
Like Maamau, he ended his speech by asking the UN to acknowledge Taiwan as a member after having ignored its right to self-determination for so long.
Belizean Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Wilfred Elrington and Saint Lucian Prime Minister Allen Michael Chastanet also commented on Taiwan’s continued efforts to support global development and the UN’s core principles and goals.
However, Taiwan has been treated unfairly by the UN, Elrington said.
The disparity between the UN’s stated mission and the way it handles the Taiwan situation must be corrected immediately, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Second Deputy Prime Minister Sir Louis Straker said.
As of Friday, 12 of the nation’s 16 allies that have taken the stage during the general debate have voiced their support for Taiwan’s participation in the UN, either as a member or in an alternative capacity.
The Republic of China held a seat in the UN until 1971, when it withdrew before the organization could vote to admit China and expel Taiwan.
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