Policy Statements And Updates

Statement by the Director-General, Jan Beagle at the Friends of the UN Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases: Working with Member States to Deliver the NCD-related SDG Targets during and beyond COVID-19

Your Excellency Mr. Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Global Chair of the Group of the Landlocked Developing Countries,

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, 
Distinguished representatives of Member States and Observers, 
Colleagues and Friends,

COVID-19 is exposing existing fragilities to democracy, good governance and the rule of law. Citizens’ growing distrust of government has been exacerbated by the pandemic and has also limited swift and effective governance responses.

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change are the defining challenges of our time.

Dear friends,

Multilateralism and the rule of law, so critical to advancing peace and security, human dignity and individual well-being, may sometimes appear to be abstract concepts, distant from the day to day lives of people.

On International Earth Day, IDLO joins the international community in recognising the importance of a more sustainable development model which meets the needs of the present while protecting the environment and the rights of future generations.

Today, we commemorate World Health Day 2020 in the midst of a global health crisis which is growing exponentially, overwhelming hospitals and healthcare systems across the world.