UN General Assembly
2021

I have seen in the progress we have made through the Christchurch Call to Action, what can be achieved when governments, industry, and civil society work together in a multistakeholder capacity to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online, and I am utterly committed to further efforts on this important work. New Zealand is committed to advancing Our Common Agenda, and sadly, as we have seen in recent times, an essential element of this is preparedness. No one can argue for instance that the global community as a whole was adequately prepared for a global pandemic. It is clear that we will face further global health risks, and we have no excuses for remaining unprepared. New Zealand strongly supports the ambitious and practical approach of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. We will not just passively support the Independent Panel’s recommendations. We will actively engage on work streams to develop a pandemic treaty, convention or other international instrument; to improve global surveillance, validation and early response; and importantly, to strengthen the World Health Organization.