Hanoi, (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucattended and delivered remarks at an open debate of the UN Security Council(UNSC) on addressing climate-related risks to international peace and security,which was held in the form of video conferencing on February 23.

This is the first time the Vietnamese government leader hasattended and spoke at an event in the framework of the UNSC, which demonstratesVietnam’s responsible role and contribution to the joint effort of theinternational community to respond to climate change, a leading global challengeat present. In his remarks, PM Phuc underlined the grievous impacts of climate change on Earth – the sharedhome of human kind, which have placed great burdens onthe political and socio-economic life of many countries. They have causedunemployment and poverty, affected the livelihood of hundreds of millions ofpeople, and risked creating instabilities or exacerbating present conflicts inmany countries and regions, thus threatening international peace and security. He proposed that the UNSC, with its foremostmission being the maintenance of international peace and security, needs togalvanize collective and persevering efforts of the international community viafour groups of measures to address climate-related risks. PM Phuc said a comprehensive and balanced approach is necessary inhandling the connections between traditional and non-traditional securitychallenges, particularly in addressing the root causes of conflicts, such aspoverty, inequality, power politics and unilateral interference and coercion. “Strictadherence to the UN Charter and international law must truly become a standardof behaviour for countries in international relations,” he said. The Vietnamese governmentleader asked the UNSC and the international community to allocategreater resources to support developing countries, least developed countries,small island developing states, and land-locked countries that are mostdetrimentally affected by climate change, and are also lacking expertise andresources, in order for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG-2030),the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Paris Agreement(COP-21) to be effectively implemented. He hoped that the UNSC will continue to enhance its early warning capacity,and bolster its role in mediating, preventing and resolving conflicts in allregions, including through enhancing cooperation with regional organizations. At the same time, PM Phuc stressed that in order to harmoniously managethe connection between climate change and security, it is necessary to continueupholding the principles of respect for the sovereignty, national ownership andprincipal responsibilities of states. “The shared interests of communities and peoples, particularlyvulnerable groups, must be placed at the heart of all national and global climateaction strategies and plans,” he said. PM Phuc took the occasion to affirm that activeand effective response to climate change is both a major guideline and a strongpolitical resolve by the Vietnamese Government. He stressed that Vietnam hasmade great efforts to fulfill its international commitments on climate change(SDG-2030 and COP-21). “In this connection, we support all endeavours to addressclimate-related challenges at the UNSC and other multilateral forums,” the PMsaid, pledging that Vietnam will work closely with other ASEAN members andsupport the cooperation between ASEAN and the UN.   Climate change-related risks to international peace and security isan issue drawing great attention at the UNSC. Since 2007, the UNSC has organizednine debates on the issue, with a statement of the council’s President adoptedin 2011 on climate change’s impact on maintenance of peace and security./.