A seat at the table: Why Canada should promote Taiwan's inclusion at the UN

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - 10:00

The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, sustainable development and more all prove an essential point: to solve global problems, all countries must be at the table to contribute to global solutions. Though the UN and its agencies should play this role, a major partner has been left sidelined for roughly half a century.

Due to political pressure from China, Taiwan remains excluded from the UN system. This means that, during a global pandemic, the 23.5 million Taiwanese people are excluded from benefiting from or contributing to organizations such as the World Health Organization. This exclusion undermines human health, global governance, and the very principles upon which the UN was founded.

With the UN General Assembly taking place at the end of September, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute is hosting an expert webinar panel to highlight the problems that arise from Taiwan’s exclusion, and to make sense of how countries like Canada can play a leading role in improving Taiwan’s access to the UN and its agencies.