Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen Shah) addressed the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 24, 2026. His address focused on the devastating floods in Nepal, climate change, the vulnerability of the Himalayan region, climate justice, international support and the need for greater global cooperation. The Nepali government had announced beforehand that Prime Minister Shah would address the General Debate of the 81st UN General Assembly on September 24.
The Balen Shah UN speech came weeks after catastrophic flash floods affected Nepal’s mountain communities. In his address, Shah connected the disaster to the broader climate crisis and highlighted Nepal’s vulnerability despite its relatively small contribution to global greenhouse-gas emissions. He also called for greater cooperation between Himalayan countries, improved early-warning systems, climate financing and stronger international support for disaster recovery and reconstruction.
Shah’s speech also went beyond Nepal’s climate concerns. He discussed the future of the international order, the role of the United Nations, international law, sovereignty, global economic inequality and the need for greater solidarity among nations. One of the most notable parts of his address was his six-word formulation: “Relief. Rehabilitation. Reconstruction. And also: Responsibility. Reparation. Resilience.”
Balen Shah UN Speech: Full Transcript
00:10 Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I come before you from Nepal, a distant country in the Himalayas, carrying a close warning for humanity. I wish I could stand here today simply to talk about development, democracy, peace, and the hopes of a young nation. Instead, I must speak about death and destruction of epic proportion, about families waiting for loved ones,
00:44 will never come home. About communities searching through the mud, rocks, water for the people, bodies may never be recovered. About bridges, about roads, schools, homes, livelihood swept away in minutes. About a country whose steady progress to achieve sustainable development goals has been interrupted. Four weeks ago, the world saw shocking images of catastrophic floods that swept away Nepal’s mountain communities with ferocity, many have called,
01:17 mountain tsunami or Himalayan tsunami. The Bhotekashi-Trishuli disaster was not just a local tragedy. It was a warning to the world. And I ask you today, have you really heard that warning? Nearly three years ago, standing in the shadow of our Mount Everest, the Secretary-General of the United Nations warned humanity about the madness and impending climate disaster. That cry from the rooftop of the world was not heard enough loudly.
01:46 We in Nepal heard it. Our communities heard it. Scientists around the world heard it. They repeated it with evidence. But we, the political leaders, have been negligent to translate those warnings into action at the speed and scale that the vulnerable people require. Last month, we saw the tragic consequences. A warming climate that is destabilizing the fragile Himalayan ecology, melting permafrost,
02:12 that are fracturing mountains, slopes, beneath the glaciers and accelerating the risk of ice-rock avalanche, floods, landslides and other cascading hazards. The resulting devastation unleashed havoc on both sides of the Nepal-China border. The flood continued downstream to India. This tells us something fundamental. Climate change does not recognize borders. Glaciers and floods do not travel with stamps and passports.
02:43 Excellencies, I am not here to complain but to share some suggestions. First, I wish to express Nepal’s deep gratitude to all those who came to our aid aftermath of the deluge. Our immediate neighbours, India and China, offered prompt and generous assistance. Other friendly countries, the United Nations system, humanitarian agencies, philanthropies and people around the world stood with Nepal. To all of them, I say thank you on the behalf of the grateful people of Nepal.
03:19 Nepal now faces a massive task of recovery and reconstruction. After at least 1400 deaths and over 66,000 people still missing, a rapid assessment peg physical recovery needs at about 10% of GDP. As in rebuilding after post-disaster like 2015 Gorkha earthquake, we count on your solidarity and support. But we must also understand why this disaster matters beyond Nepal.
03:47 Nepal contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying a colossal price for it. Our glaciers are retreating, our mountain slopes are becoming unstable, our rivers are becoming less predictable, and every major disaster threatens to erase years of development. For Nepal, climate catastrophe is not just a humanitarian event, but a development emergency.
04:17 It destroys roads, bridges, schools, homes, farms and livelihoods. It destroys clean energy infrastructure that we need to fuel our future. And it forces a poor country to borrow money to repair damage it did not cause. But we are not here to blame any country or continent. We are not here to turn climate change into another geopolitical battlefield. We are here to ask everyone to recommit, to share responsibility and solidarity.
04:51 Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community has already agreed to the principle of common differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities. Those who have historically contributed more to the problem and those with greater capacity to respond must do more. Climate justice cannot remain a beautiful phrase in the United Nations document. People of our country be allowed to build their future instead of constantly rebuilding their past.
05:21 Excellencies, the Hindukush Himalayas is home to nearly 2 billion people. These mountains provide water, ecosystem, agriculture and livelihood to populations far beyond Nepal. The Himalayas are not peripheral to the planet, they are part of the planet’s life support system. That is why, as an urgent first step, we propose that we establish Himalaya Climate Resilience Mechanism led by Nepal, India and China. Through this mechanism,
05:54 Through this mechanism, let us share satellite data and expertise. Let us monitor dangerous glacial lakes. Let us strengthen joint early warning systems. And when disaster strikes, let us coordinate assistance across borders. Let the Himalayas become laboratory of international cooperation rather than frontier of fragmented information. Remarkable for at least developed country,
06:19 Nepal is already playing a global role exceeding its ecological share. We have restored forest, covered nearly half of our territory. We are installing hydropower at a pace enough to power all clean energy needs and displace dirty sources abroad. We are promoting electric mobility with an adoption rate to match parts of Europe. We are strengthening climate adaptation at local level and we shall do more to withstand increased intensity and frequency of climate disaster. 06:47 But Nepal cannot build resilience alone against a crisis made worse by the failure of global governance. This is why this assembly must note six words: Relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and also responsibility, reparation, resilience. The first three are what we need after disaster.
07:09 The second three are what we need to ensure that disaster does not become a permanent condition. When a climate-driven disaster destroys infrastructure of a poor country, the answer cannot simply be another mega loan or a patchwork of small grants. We need adequate grant-based support. We need adequate grant-based support from the world. The loss and damage fund, the global environment facility, and other financing mechanisms remain grossly inadequate. Climate finance must not become bureaucratic.
07:45 another bureaucratic maze through which vulnerable countries spend years that they need help. When the house is burning, we do not ask family to complete 50 forms, we act. This is what climate justice must mean. Excellencies, this brings me to a larger question: What kind of international order do you want? The United Nations was born from humanity’s experience of horrific world war. Its promise was that sovereignty would matter.
08:14 International law would matter, the dignity of every human being would matter, and the weak would not simply have to accept whatever the powerful decide. Today, that international system is under strain. Too often, military and economic power determines whose voice is heard. Nepal believes we need much fairer global economic order. In 1994, UNDP’s Human Development Report conceptualized the notion of human insecurity.
08:42 It equated security with people rather than territories, and with development rather than arms. It called for the peace dividend to secure freedoms from fear and want. The new majority government in Nepal, elected through the fairest and most peaceful elections in our history, this march has had to weather many international adversities since. When a poor farmer in Nepal went to sow her seeds in monsoon, fertilizers didn’t reach her on time.
09:11 When we wanted to pave a new highway, there was no bitumen. When a family sat down for an evening meal, there was a shortage of cooking gas. On the one hand, there are melting glaciers and failing harvest to floods arriving without warning. On the other hand, a global supply chain punishes poor people for causes beyond reason.
09:32 Intercontinental missiles arrive on time. Rifles and ammunition cross border, clear every bottleneck, meet each deadline. But a peasant in Nepal cannot procure his fertilizer or fuel at market price at a time of need. We have built a world with flawless logistics for war and broken logistics for food.
10:03 And this is not Nepal’s private misfortune. Ask Bangladesh, ask Bhutan, ask India, ask the Maldives, ask Pakistan, ask Sri Lanka, ask any other country in our region and you’ll hear the same account. Hit by the climate, we did not warm, and again hit by the wars, we did not start. This tells us there is a lot more broken than meets the eye in the global cooperation. Excellencies, I am told I am the youngest head of government to address this assembly this year.
10:43 I did not come here to make that a story. I came to make sure whatever else is said from this podium, one thing is said plainly. A country that is willing to pay should be able to buy and a world that can deliver a weapon anywhere in 72 hours has no excuse for leaving a farmer without means of decent livelihood.
11:09 This is why we believe in multilateralism. This is why we need United Nations, in which presence of small poor country is felt and we can work together towards outcomes. Climate justice is therefore not only about money. It is about distributive justice who bears the cost. It is about procedural justice who has a voice. 11:29 It is about weather, future of mountain communities, small island states, landlocked and least developed countries, and generations yet unborn count equally. Starting tomorrow at the Sakarmatha to Seaside event right here at the United Nations, Nepal is ready to help lead this conversation. Mr. President and Excellencies,
11:49 We are at this General Assembly at a moment of profound global uncertainty. And with a renewed democratic mandate that reflects the aspiration of new generation, our youths have demanded a politics of integrity and accountability. The generational shift is not only a national story. It is part of global awakening against conflict, inequities and lack of opportunities.
12:13 The commitment of my government is clear: to build a state that delivers decent jobs, social protection, and a fair chance to every Nepali to thrive at home. The Nepal flood signals a future saved by rising climate extremes. Our baselines are no longer relevant, and we must move from ad hoc responses to a culture of preparedness. Let us finance resilience and invest in insurance and innovation.
12:46 Let us build stronger infrastructure and institutions. Let us reduce fossil fuel dependence. Let us build systems that warn, alert and save lives. Let us reform the order that leaves the weakest with least power. And when the next warning comes from the rooftop of the world, let us be ready to hear it and ready to act. May Lord Shiva bless the world. May this world not be shaken by the path shown by Buddha. Thank you very much. Namaste.
13:30 On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister of Nepal. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Beata Maynil-Reisinger, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Australia.
