Delegate Statement
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I am Robin and it is my pleasure to represent Sweden in this Security Council meeting. I would like to start off this speech by briefly introducing my home country. Sweden is a Scandinavian country located in Northern Europe with an area of around 450 thousand square kilometers, and with a total population of approximately 10 million. My country is the seventh richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Adopting an export-oriented mixed economy, my country sells timber, electricity, and other products to various countries. My country also focuses on research and development, engineering and services, so as to improve our wellbeing and advancement.
Nowadays, there is a myriad of issues existing in our global village, and there are few of them that I would like to address today. Firstly, illegal arms trading and global dispute has been increasingly prevalent, where these have exacerbated global tension and suspicion. I urge all member states to establish a transparent record on the production, export and import of arms, while a risk assessment should also exist to prevent the manipulation of arms across the globe. I believe the above measures can mitigate the amount of conflict and suspicion present nowadays.
Secondly, the reckless production of energy using fossil fuels has aggravated environmental pollution and the health of the public around the world, and we are highly concerned about that. My country has always been an active member of the Paris agreement and the Tokyo protocol, I urge all members to join these organizations, so as to encourage the reduction in greenhouse gas emission. I also suggest that member states should reduce the use of fossil fuels for the production of energy, and switch to “cleaner” energy such as nuclear or renewable energy.
Thirdly, food insecurity is one of the most prevalent matters around the world, especially for developing countries. To tackle this exacerbating issue, I urge all member states to support the World Food Programme, by becoming one of its active donors. During 2017, we donated around $93 million US dollars, and I believe that other high-income countries should also support this meaningful organization.
The last crucial topic that I wanted to discuss is the Syrian crisis, which has caused the displacement of many Syrians. A lot of people lost their homes and were forced to leave their country, and we strongly believe that they should be supported. We believe that all refugees have the right to seek refuge, and thus we allowed asylum seekers from Syria to reside in Sweden permanently since 2013. We also allow a large number of refugees into our country and we support them with equal rights and adequate welfare. We believe that all men and women are entitled to the rights in Universal Declaration of Human Rights and this is especially true to Syrians in need. I urge all nations to support Syrians under this time of crisis, so as to reduce the amount of distress they have to suffer.
The above are some of our opinions on few global issues, and I hope my speech can galvanize fellow member states into action. It is really vital for all of us to collaboratively tackle or mitigate these issues, as it can promote the betterment of our global village.