– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
4 November 2020
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H.E. Christian Braun, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations,
Ms. Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for the opportunity to address the Group of Friends on Children and the Sustainable Development Goals.
This group¡¯s uncompromising support for child rights is laudable.? As a father and grandfather, as well as an advocate for the vulnerable, I am pleased to join you today.
Only this past April, as the pandemic raged around the world and countries went into lockdown, this Group, together with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF, the European Union and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to protect the lives and well-being of children. As you so rightly stated, ¡°we cannot let the COVID-19 crisis become a child rights crisis¡±.
My friends, this year was supposed to be one of celebration, the start of the Decade of Action¡ and yet, here we are.
But I won¡¯t dwell on the difficulties we find ourselves in as a result of COVID-19.? Suffice it to say they are many and they are severe. What I will do is emphasize the opportunity
to turn what is, ostensibly, a dramatic setback in sustainable development, into an opportunity to do things better and accelerate our achievement of the SDGs.
As this Group itself has said, tackling COVID-19 and achieving the SDGs are, and I quote, ¡°two-sides of the same coin¡±. I couldn¡¯t agree more.
This group¡¯s uncompromising support for child rights is laudable.? As a father and grandfather, as well as an advocate for the vulnerable, I am pleased to join you today.
We have in the SDGs a blueprint for a sustainable recovery, covering everything from resilient infrastructure to accessible social services, from good governance to protecting biodiversity. With this in hand, our role now must be to ensure that the trillions that are spent in socio-economic recovery are done so through an SDG-lens, ever-mindful of the need to recover better, to build a stronger, more resilient world.
And in doing so, we must be forward looking, accepting of the fact that we are laying a foundation for not only ourselves but for our children and for generations to come.
Practically, this requires us to engage children and young people in the work that we undertake. They too are stakeholders with a vested interest in the world of tomorrow. Their voices must be heard.
And never doubt that their voices are lacking. We have seen significant engagement from young people across the globe on climate and environmental issues, in particular.
Excellencies, with this in mind, my ask of you, as you engage in the work of the General Assembly this year, is to consider opportunities to engage with young people.
For my own part, I intend to convene a President¡¯s Townhall with children and youth for nature in the New Year. This is a part of my engagements with key constituencies on the Road to Kunming Initiative, a follow-up to the Summit on Biodiversity.
Furthermore, I will endeavor to work closely with the Secretary General¡¯s Youth Envoy, as well as civil society groups representing youth, whenever an opportunity arises.
Ladies and gentlemen, before I close, allow me to commend the continued leadership of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF. People in vulnerable situation are at the core of my priorities, and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF¡¯s Agenda for Action, geared towards children affected by war, violence and poverty, is a crucial contribution. Similarly, the effort to stockpile syringes and to prepare for mass, equitable vaccination ¨C of children and adults alike ¨C is commendable.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you once again and wish you well in your discussions.