[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-76px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
1 December 2022<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n \n Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/span><\/p>\n Dear Friends,<\/span><\/p>\n As I look out into the General Assembly today, there are relative many of us here. But not nearly the number of spectators who would be attending a major sports event.<\/span><\/p>\n Today the World Cup is underway, with shouts of “goal\u201d or expressions of disappointment echoing through the halls. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Athletes \u2013 men and women alike \u2013 are among the most powerful and influential people in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They are role models looked up to by millions of young people around the globe. <\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think any young people today are wearing jerseys with our names on them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If we want to make change, to transform the world, we must include sports and athletes in our work.<\/span><\/p>\n Where politics and ideology can divide, forcing animosity and separation,\u00a0 sport brings together people in peaceful competition.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n It has the ability to break down racial and other barriers, combat discrimination, and defuse conflict.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sport is a platform to combat some of the gravest dangers the world faces today.<\/span><\/p>\n It is not surprising that our SDGs bring together sport, peace and development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Athletes and fans can join forces to be powerful advocates for action.<\/span><\/p>\n As the great Latin writer Publilius Syrus once said, \u201dWhere there is unity, there is always victory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \n But it is also up to us to make sporting events models of respectable behaviour.<\/span><\/p>\n Of fighting violence against women and girls.<\/span><\/p>\n Or of combatting stigma, such as against people with HIV or AIDS.<\/span><\/p>\n Just a few examples, and ones that are supported by the wording in the draft resolution.<\/p>\n I want to thank the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Sport for Sustainable Development, Qatar and Monaco, for their contributions and support to this resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n I encourage all Member states to preserve the unifying spirit of sports and the Olympic movement.<\/span><\/p>\n It is far more promising to the world if nations compete on the fields of sports than on the battle fields. The former makes us more noble and stronger, the latter leaves death and devastation behind.<\/p>\n Yes, we are living in a volatile world with deep divisions. Yet, in my view, sport and its organizations should remain inclusive.<\/span><\/p>\n \n We should not forget that it is much more desirable to end armed conflicts than to end cooperation.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sport is a solid common base for many of us, but it is also about willpower and perseverance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Or, as put by Pel\u00e9, who would not need an introduction,\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Success is no accident. It is hard work, learning, sacrifice and most of all, love of what we are doing\u201d.<\/p>\n Thank you.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1 December 2022 Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, As I look out into the General Assembly today, there are relative many of us here. But not nearly the number […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" 10 November 2022<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\r\n Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\r\n Afghanistan is in crisis. It is in many crises.<\/p>\r\n It has been 15 months since the Taliban consolidated control over the country.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Its economy is in ruins. The humanitarian situation is disastrous.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Two-thirds of the population is hungry.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Girls and women are banned from learning, having a job or getting proper medical care.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The country is awash with heroin and opium.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Organized crime and terrorist organizations are thriving once again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Afghanistan is facing complex and interlinked challenges that the Taliban have shown they cannot \u2013 or would not \u2013 solve.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\r\n It is time to support the Afghan people with concrete solutions that place their needs front and center.<\/p>\r\n It is true that some problems will require some time to resolve.<\/p>\r\n But there are actions the Assembly can take to change the paradigm now.<\/p>\r\n I would like you to consider one solution through solidarity.<\/p>\r\n The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan \u2013 which requires $4.4 billion US dollars \u2013 is only half funded.<\/p>\r\n With winter weather just weeks away, I encourage Member States to provide urgent support to help reduce the $2.3 billion dollar shortfall.<\/p>\r\n Let\u2019s remind ourselves of the old saying from Afghanistan: \u201cA real friend is one who takes the hand of his friend in times of distress and helplessness.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Excellencies,<\/p>\r\n Afghanistan has a rich history of scientific achievement.<\/p>\r\n I encourage the country\u2019s reengagement with the international science community.<\/p>\r\n And\u00a0to allow women who used to be respected members of the country\u2019s science community to resume their research and their studies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Afghanistan is now the only state in the world that would deny girls their full right to education.<\/p>\r\n The prospect of girls\u2019 education has been left to uncertainty amid seemingly random edicts from the Taliban.<\/p>\r\n This time last year, Fawzia Koofi, the first woman Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Parliament, recalled her dream of one day addressing the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ as the President of Afghanistan.<\/p>\r\n She said:\u00a0\u201cWith me, millions of girls and women in Afghanistan had this dream that now they think will never come true.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Dreams of becoming President have been replaced by the reality of child marriage. Arrests if women and girls leave their home without a male chaperone.<\/p>\r\n I reiterate my call for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of all Afghans, especially women and girls.<\/p>\r\n Similarly, I urge the Taliban to ensure the safety of all Afghans, regardless of gender, ethnic background, religious belief or political affiliation.<\/p>\r\n To protect journalists and civil society members.<\/p>\r\n To allow unhindered humanitarian aid, and to cooperate with humanitarian workers.<\/p>\r\n We expect the Taliban to make good on the commitments they made to the international community.\u00a0To show honesty through\u00a0concrete action.<\/p>\r\n Excellencies,<\/p>\r\n The dramatic changes of 2021 have taken a massive toll on Afghanistan\u2019s economy and profoundly widened many security risks.<\/p>\r\n