Maldivian diplomat Abdulla Shahid this week took the oath to become president of the UN General Assembly’s 76th session. In his first interview since taking office, he spoke exclusively with Arab News and shared his vision for what he intends to be a “presidency of hope.”
was the first media organization to visit his new office, newly vacated by the previous occupant Volkan Bozkir at the conclusion of his one-year term as president.
We were greeted warmly not only by Shahid but many members of the team at the Maldivian UN mission. His election had been hailed as a great achievement for his small island nation and another step toward true representation at the UN.
Shahid, his country’s foreign minister, takes on his new UN role at a time when the world is mired in calamity. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage worldwide as wealthy nations hoard vaccines. The planet is sending daily warning signals that we can no longer afford to ignore the dangerous effects of climate change. Protracted conflicts continue to drive millions of people from their homes and into refugee camps.
At this time, one cannot help but wonder where exactly does hope reside and how do we reclaim it?
The Maldives, an island nation in the heart of the Indian Ocean, is the lowest-lying country in the world, with an average elevation of 1.5 meters, The natural high point of its territory is only 5.1 meters.
“Coming from the Maldives, the climate-change issue is an existential threat for us,” said Shahid. “We live every day, day in and day out, with the possibility of drowning. The sea levels are rising. The scientists are predicting that we have crossed the red line; 2040 is a date beyond the tipping point.
“But in the Maldives what we survive on is hope, because we have to believe in the common good of humanity.”
The common good has perhaps never been more considered and discussed than during the pandemic, which has plunged economies into depression and wreaked havoc on people’s lives through the deaths of loved ones, the loss of jobs, and lockdowns that create mental challenges for many.
“But there was a glimmer of hope in that: The selfless service of health workers, how they sacrificed themselves in spite of clear-cut dangers to themselves,” said Shahid.
“So we should not lose hope in humanity. The goodness of humanity is there — we have to make sure it thrives, we have (to) celebrate it. If we lose hope what is there for us? There’s nothing. The only thing we stand on is hope that the goodness of humanity will survive.”
On all the issues Shahid considers priorities, the writing has been on the wall for some time. Scientists and UN agencies know, for example, what needs to be done to mitigate climate change, slow the spread of COVID-19, and include the most vulnerable people in global rebuilding efforts.
The only thing that is lacking, one keeps hearing in the halls of the UN, is the political will to take action.
Since he was elected president of the General Assembly in June with a sweeping majority, Shahid has held meetings with representatives of every one of the UN’s 193 member states. As a result, he has a slightly different perspective on the question of will.
“I think there is great political will — it needs to be harnessed,” he said. “We are 193 countries. The UN Charter starts with these three words: ‘We the peoples.’ So the 193 countries are not 193 countries by themselves. They also constitute ‘We the peoples.’”
As an example, he said: “I’ve had the privilege of interacting with (UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s) youth group of advisors on climate change. They are thinking outside the box. They are disappointed. They are talking of action. And they represent 1.8 billion youths in the world. And these 1.8 billion youths constitute 193 countries.
“So I can see the will. I can hear them loudly, clearly. All we need to do is for us to start listening.”
As it is in the Maldives, climate change is also an existential threat to many people in the oil-producing Gulf States. The region has for years been caught in a vicious cycle of rising temperatures that lead to increased use of air conditioners, which requires the burning of more fossil fuels to power them, causing temperatures to rise further still.
Shahid believes that the Kingdom’s plans for a Saudi Green Initiative and a Middle East Green Initiative, which were announced this year and will be officially launched in October, could completely reverse this course and set the region on the road to transformation.
“I salute the leadership of Saudi Arabia for the initiatives they have taken, the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative,” he said. “The planting of (billions of trees) is going to totally transform the landscape in the Middle East.
“The Saudi leadership is becoming an international champion in the field of addressing climate change