Making the United Nations Relevant to all People– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the 蘑菇视频 General Assembly
5 October 2018
Address to the Third Committee
His Excellency, Mahmoud Saikal, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan and Chairman of the Third Committee,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Allow me first to congratulate Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal and the other members of the Bureau on their election to lead the work of this Committee.
I trust that, with your leadership and dedication, the Third Committee will successfully move forward as you take on the important work on your agenda.
Since the beginning of my presidency, I have insisted on the importance of making the United Nations more relevant to all people of the world. To achieve this goal, the work of the Third Committee is fundamental.
Social development, the elimination of racism and racial discrimination and the exercise of the right of people to self-determination are essential for this Organization. Equally important are the rights of the children, indigenous peoples, people of African descent, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, the elderly and people with disabilities.
We must also advance in crime prevention and criminal justice, as in the efforts to overcome the world drug problem .
Distinguished delegates,
At least five of my seven priorities closely correspond to the work of this Committee, namely: gender equality; people with disabilities; migrants and refugees; youth; and decent work. This is why I have great expectations about the results of the deliberations of this Committee.
As the fourth woman to hold the presidency of the General Assembly, I am committed to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.
My presidency is dedicated to women who are harassed for the mere fact of occupying political spaces, and to those who demand equity in their workplaces. I want to raise awareness about the women and girls who are victims of violence and who continue to be excluded by the law because of the simple fact of being women.
To break the cycle of inequality that continues to weigh on half of the world’s population, we need collective efforts. I hope to count on the collaboration of all of you to achieve that common goal during this session.
For this reason, I am providing all my support to the summit on “Women in power” in March 2019.
Dear delegates,
Around one and a half billion people live with some type of disability, most of them living in developing countries.
This Committee is central to the promotion of the rights of people with disabilities and to ensure their rights to a quality education and their access to decent work. I appeal to you to incorporate these cross-cutting perspectives in your deliberations.
As well, I firmly believe that we must support global efforts to ensure the protection and assistance to the more than 25 million refugees around the world, with the adoption and implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees.
Likewise, we must preserve the agreements reached in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Both agreements, as well as the various resolutions adopted on these issues, will contribute to ensuring the well-being and dignity of those seeking refuge and those who migrate to other countries.
At least five of my seven priorities closely correspond to the work of this Committee, namely: gender equality; people with disabilities; migrants and refugees; youth; and decent work.
Distinguished delegates,
During this seventy-third session, in a plenary meeting of the General Assembly, we will commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
We are committed to the premise that all human beings are born free and equal. After 70 years, we have made important progress in realizing the commitments contained in the Universal Declaration and in the main human rights conventions, but we still have great challenges to overcome.
It is our responsibility to address these challenges in support of the millions of people who continue to suffer from injustice, exclusion, discrimination and violence, material deprivation, hunger and lack of opportunities.
We will also dedicate a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the right and duty of individuals, groups and institutions to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, universally recognized.
Distinguished delegates,
This session is addressing many sensitive issues and we are aware of the political differences that exist among Member States. We cannot allow these obstacles to prevent us from taking action that improves the lives of our peoples.
This Committee has the political and moral responsibility to address the complex challenges of a world in constant evolution and to propose effective responses.
I trust that each of you will be up to the challenges that lie ahead. I invite you to enter into your negotiations and debates with openness, tolerance, the spirit of commitment and fraternity.
We have a shared responsibility to make this Organization increasingly efficient, and produce tangible results that benefit people.
José Saramago, the famous Portuguese writer, said that many people suffer from “mental blindness”, which he defined as the state of “being in the world and not seeing the world or only seeing what, in each moment, is susceptible to serve our interests. ”
Dear delegates, I invite you to see the world, to feel it, to live it, respecting differences and strengthening all that unites us, starting with our common humanity and our aspirations to reach a better, more equitable, more united and more respectful of its diversity.
I wish you every success in your deliberations and I reiterate that you have my full support to achieve the objective of ensuring that our Organization has a real and significant impact on the lives of people, especially those who are more vulnerable to the problems we face.
Thank you very much.