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Countries that can make a difference should heed calls for action

Several world leaders have delivered thoughtful and constructive speeches at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Several world leaders have delivered thoughtful and constructive speeches at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Most speeches rightly focused on the global challenges the world faces, and what can and should be done to make it a better and fairer place for its eight billion inhabitants. In particular, I single out Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados - a Caribbean country of about 300,000 people - for her courage to advocate world peace and prosperity by resolving conflicts through diplomacy, action on climate change, the rights of small and weak nations to fair representation at the UN and other global bodies, the long overdue restructuring of the UN Security Council and the removal of the veto power of its five permanent members. Many such ideas and suggestions had been proposed by other leaders before just as persuasively, including the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, but talk is cheap. Sadly, all those points will soon be forgotten until they are repeated by other leaders at the next General Assembly in 2023. Meanwhile, the many crises the world faces - the war in Ukraine, rising tension between China and the United States, high inflation, global warming, food security, and energy and supply chain disruptions - will continue. Alas, we humans, especially those with the power to make a difference, just do not have the courage and common sense to do the right thing to ameliorate a bad situation and make this a better and safer world for all.