Upon been elected as the Chair by acclamation, and opening the sixth session of the Committee on Social Development (CSD) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), which was held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok from 20 to 21 October 2020, Ambassador and the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UNESCAP, Samantha K. Jayasuriya, told the UN CSD that the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic proved the need for social protection than ever before.