Ten of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies on Tuesday sent a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in support of the nation’s call to be included in the organization.
In the letter, the allies called on the UN to take immediate action to address the unjustified exclusion of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people from the UN system.
It also urged the UN to immediately rectify its discriminatory policy against Taiwanese passport holders, and ensure that Taiwan can participate in meetings, mechanisms and activities related to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Photo: Reuters
The letter was signed by Belize, Eswatini, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Tuvalu.
The letter was sent by Inga Rhonda King, permanent representative of St Vincent and the Grenadines to the UN, Carlos Fuller, Belize’s permanent representative to the UN, and Thamie Dlamini, Eswatini’s permanent representative to the UN.
Taiwan has made significant contributions to the world’s peace and stability, and should not be excluded from the UN system, King said.
The voices of the 23 million people of Taiwan cannot be heard by the UN directly, which is why its diplomatic allies have to relay their voices to the international organization, Fuller said.
Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and other like-minded countries stand in solidarity with Taiwan, hoping it can play a more active role in the international community, Dlamini said.
Meanwhile, four allies sent separate letters to Guterres for the same purpose, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
They were Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Haiti, it said.
The Vatican was the only one of the 14 states that recognize Taipei that did not speak up for Taiwan during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly or send a letter supporting Taiwan’s call to be included in the UN system.
Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Europe, the Holy See is an observer rather than a member of the UN and rarely speaks on political issues at its meetings.
In related developments, the representatives of three allies at a plenary session on Tuesday of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) assembly called for Taiwan to be allowed to participate at the event.
The 41st ICAO assembly concludes tomorrow at the agency’s headquarters in Montreal.
At the plenary session, the representatives of Belize, Eswatini and Tuvalu spoke in favor of Taiwan’s inclusion in ICAO activities.
Belizean Minister of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation Andre Perez said that his government called for Taiwan to “be given the opportunity to have meaningful participation in our ICAO processes” as “no country should be left behind.”
Swazi Minister of Public Works and Transport Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe said that the ICAO continues to deny certain critical stakeholders’ participation in its activities, adding that Eswatini “believes that international civil aviation stakeholders that administer any political airspace should be part of such an organization.”
Taniela Siose, Tuvalu’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, urged the ICAO to “fully include Taiwan as a sovereign nation in all its forums and gatherings.”
Taiwan last attended the ICAO’s triennial event as a guest of the president of the UN agency’s council in 2013 amid warming ties between Taiwan and China under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
It has not been invited to any ICAO assembly since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office.
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