Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cameroon, said that while anniversaries are always a cause for joy, “we have to acknowledge that this particular one leaves us with questions.”  The Organization’s 80th anniversary provides the opportunity to take stock and reflect on more effective ways to implement its missions and promises as expressed in the UN Charter while its theme must be translated to action on the national and international levels.  He regretted that, 80 years later, with the current global armed conflicts and the threat of nuclear escalation “which we once thought to be a thing of the past”, the comity of nations has been unable to save the world from the scourge of war.

Add to these the wide variety of natural disasters and pandemics causing significant material damage and loss of human lives, not to mention the various pandemics.  “The world will only meet the challenge of development only if it first wins the challenge of peace,” he said.  Pointing out the negative impact on global crises on international trade, he urged for the UN’s centre-placing of economic development through the Sustainable Development Goals as key to achieving the well-being of the world’s peoples.  With five years before the Global Goals’ deadline, he called for concerted urgent efforts to deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda.

Noting his country’s optimism and active participation in the search for solutions to climate change and the protection of wildlife and biodiversity, he called for the effective mobilization of the earlier pledged but unfulfilled $100 billion yearly fund by developed countries to combat the climate phenomenon.  “At this pivotal moment in the history of the United Nations, we must act. It is an imperative obligation that we cannot ignore,” he said.  This is necessary to sustain the related efforts of developing countries. Further, Yaounde calls for reforms of the international system, particularly of the global financial architecture and the Security Council, he said.