Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
4 April 2022
Faculty members and students,
Dear friends,
I am delighted to join you today, and I offer my sincere appreciation to Columbia University¡¯s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) for kindly inviting me, and letting me speak on the topic of ¡®youth and multilateralism¡¯.
As President of the General Assembly, I am privileged to spend every day immersed in the world of global multilateralism. And as a result of this experience, two things have become very clear to me.
First, multilateralism and the institutions that we have relied upon for three quarters of a century are under more threat than ever.
And second, young people have not been given the space to be sufficiently? engaged in preserving and breathing new life into our multilateral system.?
I see it therefore as my role to support the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ in strengthening multilateralism, as well as supporting the bonds that tie people, particularly young people, to the norms, ideas, and institutions, governing our world.
Sooner than we think, our youth will inherit these systems. How they perceive it, how they embrace and support it, depends entirely upon what we do now to engage them.
Dear friends,
Our meeting takes place at a critical time. From the climate crisis, to COVID-19, to an unfolding military conflict that threatens global peace and stability, our world is mired in anxiety and uncertainty.
Our world faces multiple armed conflicts, rising extremism, nuclear proliferation, cyber threats, disinformation, and the widening impacts of climate change.
Since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, the country now confronts a grave humanitarian crisis. Afghan girls now contemplate a future without schools. And 23 million are facing starvation.?
Sudan is lurching towards economic collapse in the aftermath of a coup in October. The power-sharing agreement between the military and the civilians that was designed to lead to democratic elections is now in disarray.
The conflict in Ethiopia fought along historical, regional and ethnic fault lines continues. The recent truce could allow for much needed humanitarian access.
The crisis engulfing the Sahel region of North Africa continues to worsen, with inter-ethnic violence increasing and terrorists extending their reach.?
Yemen¡¯s seven year-long war has caused what is the world¡¯s worst humanitarian disaster.?The Saudi-proposed truce ahead of the holy month of Ramadan has been agreed to by the Houthis. While the truce is expected to expire in two months, this is the most significant step yet towards ending the conflict.
Rival military coalitions in Libya are no longer fighting, and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ has restarted negotiations aimed at reunifying the country. But reaching lasting peace will still be an uphill struggle. Credible, transparent and inclusive elections are the need of the hour.
Haiti continues to be tormented by political instability, gang warfare, growing inflation and natural disasters.?
The to military rule in Myanmar shattered all hopes for a smooth democratic transition in a country that has been beset by decades of conflict and repressive regimes.
We are all now witnessing the unfolding of a grave humanitarian crises in Ukraine, a victim of Russian military aggression. Which direction this confrontation is heading is anyone¡¯s guess.
It is imperative to restore global peace, security, and stability, and to recover sustainably from the pandemic.
As some of you may be aware, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General released a report, in September, at the specific request of Heads of State and Government following the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, on ¡°Our Common Agenda,¡±.
That report constitutes a bold and compelling vision for a more inclusive and sustainable future. It aims to reinforce and reinvigorate the collective power of our United Nations, and imagines a sort of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ 2.0, that is more nimble, adept, and ready to tackle pressing challenges.
Specifically, the ¡°Our Common Agenda¡±?report contains recommendations across four broad areas:
- solidarity between peoples and future generations;
- a new social contract anchored in human rights;
- better management of critical global commons;
- and global public goods that deliver equitably and sustainably for all.
A common thread underscoring each of these areas is the need to empower youth.
Whether in terms of establishing a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Youth Office and a Futures Lab, or convening a Summit on Transforming Education this September, and a Summit of the Future in 2023, the active engagement and important role of youth simply cannot be overemphasized.
On this point the Secretary-General is not wrong, and I have continuously championed the need to engage young people at each step, whether at meetings in the General Assembly, during bilaterals, or on my trips abroad.
My message is clear: we need to hear you, we need to work with you.
That is why I encourage young people to to continue to have a voice in decision making through their country¡¯s parliaments, ministries, and youth councils; and why they must pursue greater political representation for youth, especially young women, and girls.
Dear friends,
As I stated at the outset, we are facing crises at every turn. Our response to these crises – our action or inaction ¨C will be our defining legacy.
As President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly, I selected five priority areas ¨C what I call my five rays of hope ¨C to guide the General Assembly this session.
Each of these rays is intended to support efforts to tackle global crises and challenges, and thereby demonstrate that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ is working to address today¡¯s most pressing issues. This includes recovering from COVID-19, rebuilding sustainably, protecting the planet, revitalizing the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, and respecting the rights of all.
Today, I would like to discuss three of these areas.
First, on protecting the planet. While the recent climate summit did not meet our expectations, it did continue to push us in the right direction.
Some developments, such as the Glasgow Climate Pact, will help maintain the goal of not exceeding a 1.5 degree temperature rise. Others, such as the development of a global carbon market, will help improve the marketability of green policies, and reduce the total cost of implementing national climate commitments by more than half.
Additional commitments on deforestation and climate finance, are also promising.
Friends, trust that I am not sugarcoating it ¨C we all know fully well that COP26 did not deliver enough.
Yet, for the first time, in a very long time, we have a goal with near unanimous support: a carbon neutral, sustainable world.
Where we continue to be challenged is the pace and specific direction by which we get there.
We know that achieving 1.5?C will require significant upscaling of both mitigation and adaptation financing, including through Nature Based Solutions.
It will also require greater coordination of financing solutions for climate action, biodiversity protection, land restoration, tackling pollution, and achieving sustainable economies.
Above all, it will take the political will to make the tough choices ¨C to deliver on the promises that we made so that words are not just thrown around without action to back them up.
As part of my Presidency, I intend to convene a ¡®Moment for Nature¡¯ event in July 2022. This event will allow Member States and relevant stakeholders to reflect on the outcomes of the various Summit-level events on the environment held during the 76th session.
On my second point, recovering from COVID-19, I will continue to reiterate that vaccines for all is the only certain route out of this pandemic. A pandemic which has already been needlessly prolonged by global disparities in vaccine access.
As long as these disparities continue, new variants will emerge, some perhaps more lethal, or more likely to evade our vaccines. This threatens to undo all the progress we have made over the past two years.
That is why, the first High-Level event that I convened this year was on ¡°Galvanizing Momentum for Universal Vaccination¡± in February.
As I stated at that meeting, and as was repeated time and again by Member States, specialists and private sector partners in attendance: we must scale up the production and distribution of vaccines, and we must make every effort to reach every person, everywhere.
In short, we must commit to vaccine equity.
Friends, I would be remiss if I did not point to the staggering impacts of the pandemic and the need for a transformational recovery.
Rarely has the entire planet been so engulfed by an issue, so challenged in such a tangible way, as that which we experienced these past two years. It is fair to say that every aspect of our lives ¨C of how we work and live on this planet ¨C was affected.
While much has been said and written about the pandemic¡¯s impact on development ¨C and it has been severe ¨C we must also acknowledge the incredible opportunity we have before us.
This is a moment that we can turn our development trajectory around; this is the moment to pivot away from the very unsustainable practices that helped usher in the pandemic in the first place. This is the moment to rebuild sustainably.
In that spirit, I will be holding a series of high-level events in the coming months on how we recover sustainably. This includes a focus on reigniting the tourism sector, and an event on sustainable debt, both in May.
Dear friends,
My third point refers to the ever-pressing need to revitalize the United Nations. On this point, longstanding and urgent issues, such as climate change, have converged with recent global developments, including the pandemic, to illustrate the necessity of multilateral revitalization.
If the pandemic, and recent events in Ukraine and elsewhere, have taught us anything, it is that we need a United Nations that is fit for purpose and able to address the challenges of the day.
The Secretary-General underscored this very clearly in the ¡®Our Common Agenda¡¯ report and in the series of proposals contained within.
I am pleased that, as President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assemby, I have been able to convene Member States for a series of thematic consultations on this report and its proposals, and I look forward to the next steps to be taken.
It is my firm believe that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ must be ever-evolving and ever-changing to fit with the times. Much like we need a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ 2.0 now; we very likely will need a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ 3.0 in another half century, if not sooner.
The world and its people are dynamic, and its challenges are as much so. We must be equally as quick to change, adapt and respond if we are to be relevant.
Achieving this requires a whole-of-society approach, with the full engagement of all stakeholders, from civil society to the private sector, to students and academics such as yourselves.
It also requires that marginalized groups are always afforded their respective seats at the table and that their voices are heard. This includes women who, to be frank, remain embarrassingly underrepresented at the highest levels of power.
My dear, dear friends,
It doesn¡¯t seem like such a long time ago that I myself was sitting in classrooms much like this. I remember the eagerness and optimism that I felt, as well as the firm conviction that working together, humanity could overcome any of the challenges before it.
Somehow, against the odds ¨C and at times, wearily so ¨C I have maintained my hopeful, optimistic disposition. I believe in people and I believe in the United Nations.
If there is one message I will leave you with it is this: trust in multilateralism and commit to making it better, making it stronger, and making it work for the people it serves.
Never stop asking questions; never stop making proposals; never stop working for a world that is better and more united.
It has been a true joy to speak with you today and I am eagerly looking forward to your questions.
I thank you.