Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

The UN has adopted a resolution on equal, affordable, timely, and universal access to the COVID-19 vaccines initiated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Foreign Ministry reported on November 19.

“On November 18, 2021, within the framework of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, the UN member states adopted a resolution 'Ensuring equal, affordable, timely and universal access to vaccines against COVID-19', put forward on behalf of the members of the Non-Aligned Movement at the initiative of Azerbaijani President, as the Chairman of the NAM, in the Assembly's Third Committee,” the ministry said.

It was noted that the resolution was co-authored by 126 UN member states.

The resolution welcomes a number of important global initiatives implemented in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including the special session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the fight against COVID-19, which took place on December 2020 at the Azerbaijani president's initiative.

“Serious concern is expressed about the inequality in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines between developed and developing countries, and it is emphasized that this is one of the main factors hindering the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals,” the statement said.

The document placed emphasis on the importance of multilateralism, as well as international solidarity and cooperation in the fight against COVID-19.

In this regard, all states, private companies, and other actors are called upon to take concrete steps to ensure equal, affordable, timely, and universal access to vaccines against COVID-19.

“All states are invited to remove existing unreasonable barriers to the export of COVID-19 vaccines and cooperate in the preparation and effective distribution of vaccines,” the document reads.

The UN secretary-general is instructed to submit a report on the implementation of this resolution to the next session of the General Assembly, the ministry said.

"The adoption of this resolution was another indication that the Non-Aligned Movement, chaired by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, continues to be at the center of global efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement stressed.

The ministry thanked all the states that supported and co-authored the draft resolution.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva expressed her gratitude on her official Twitter account.

"We thank all UN member states supporting the resolution on 'Ensuring equitable, affordable, timely & universal access for all countries to vaccines in response to the COVID-19” tabled upon the initiative of the Azerbaijani president on behalf of the NAM and adopted by the General Assembly," she tweeted.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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