Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
15 June 2022
Dear friends,
I am privileged to have this opportunity to engage with you all and I thank the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the support provided in this regard.
In all my travels, I make it a point to hold meetings with civil society representatives. I do so because civil society organizations play an integral part in advancing human rights and in the maintenance of the social, cultural, and humanitarian aspects of society.
You are the voice of the people. You provide invaluable information from the ground up, helping to inform the work of the United Nations, including here at the Human Rights Council.
Yet, to this day, the contribution of CSOs to the work of the United Nations remain insufficiently recognized, marginalized, and undervalued.
This holds particularly true for organizations fighting for the rights of women and marginalized groups, as well as human rights defenders.
I have and will continue to stress the necessity of ensuring you have the freedom needed to conduct your work and that you are protected from any acts of intimidation.?
Governments, international organizations, and the international community in general should promote and support civic spaces in the broadest terms.
For these reasons, I strongly believe that spaces such as this meeting provide us the opportunity to gain better insights into the important work you do. To understand the loopholes, the challenges and how the United Nations General Assembly can better deliver for CSOs.
My friends,
During my presidency, I have carried out many initiatives as part of my resolve to strengthen the engagement of civil society and other stakeholders in the work of the General Assembly.
In the earliest months of my presidency, I held a Town Hall Meeting with CSOs – the first such in-person engagement at the United Nation Headquarters since the outbreak of COVID-19. Close to 200 representatives attended and shared with me their views on the priorities of my presidency.
CSOs were also present and engaged for the High-Level Meeting on Delivering Climate Action in October, offering their views on how to maintain progress towards the goal of 1.5 as stipulated by the Paris Agreement.
CSOs were part of our High-Level meeting on vaccine equity, in February, and contributed to calls and commitments to address the immoral divide in vaccine access.
And more recently, CSOs were fully engaged in the High-Level Debate on Sustainable Tourism, in May, which focused on a resilient, build back better approach to the tourism sector.
I am particularly grateful for the vital contributions of CSO representatives during the thematic consultations I convened on the Secretary General’s ‘Our Common Agenda’ report, which, amongst other things, outlines what is needed for a more agile, forward-looking 蘑菇视频 2.0.
Dear friends,
Under the current international situation, the participation of civil society and the promotion of civic space is more important than ever. And the United Nations General Assembly will continue to emphasize and recognize this through its work.
I see this as critical to enabling the United Nations to be more responsive and effective. Multilateralism can only work if it is working for and with the people. And there is no better representation of the views of those on the ground than through the involvement of CSOs.
I am not alone in this thinking, and the Sustainable Development Goals, along with the SGs ‘Our Common Agenda’ Report, have recognized and called for more active participation of civil society across the work of the United Nations.
I hear this also from civil society themselves, in all corners of the globe.
From COP26 in Glasgow, where I met with youth climate activists, to the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bali, to Kenya, Sweden, and Angola, I have heard from civil society.
I have learned and I continue to learn from these encounters.
Because the fact of the matter is that we simply cannot achieve our work nor deliver effective multilateralism, without the support and cooperation of CSOs.
We are all in this together. Whether talking about the climate crisis, or the crisis in Ukraine; whether recovering from COVID-19, or protecting biodiversity, there is no path forward that does not entail all hands-on deck.
My friends,
I thank each of you for your tireless support and commitments through your respective roles and organizations.
Once again thank you for this opportunity and I look forward to hearing more of the work you do and your views going forward.