Ambassador Đặng Đình Quý, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the UN.  —VNA/VNS Photo

NEW YORK — Việt Nam shares difficulties facing small island developing states, coastal countries and those located below the sea level that are grappling with adverse impacts of sea level rises, Ambassador Đặng Đình Quý, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the UN said on Monday (local time).

Speaking at an Arria-formula meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on sea-level rise and implications for international peace and security, Quý said out of the people hardest hit by sea-level rise globally, more than 70 per cent live in Asia.

Viet Nam’s Mekong and Red River Deltas are among the areas most vulnerable to sea-level rise, he stressed.

Other delegates lauded Việt Nam’s initiative to organise the meeting, and shared the view that sea-level rise has posed threats both at present and in the future, and resulted in the depletion of agricultural and aquatic resources.

Sea level rise had also affected the livelihoods of millions of people and worsened conflicts, they added.

Many suggested that attention should be paid to mitigation and adaptation measures to climate change. They also agreed that legal consequences of sea-level rise needed to be addressed within the framework of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The ambassador told the Vietnam News Agency following the meeting that Việt Nam’s initiative was to create a forum for all countries to raise their viewpoints as well as their concerns over sea level rise while creating higher consensus on the significance of UNSC discussions on this issue.

Sea level rise should be considered a challenge to international peace and security, which needed to be addressed right now, he emphasised.  

Quý affirmed Việt Nam’s commitments to promoting the UNSC’s contributions to international efforts in responding to sea level rise. —VNS