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13 December 2022<\/b><\/p>\n
(PRE-RECORDED)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Your Royal Highness, Excellencies,<\/p>\n
I convey my heartfelt congratulations to this year\u2019s recipients of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prizes for Water.<\/p>\n
Your groundbreaking innovations provide prospective solutions to the water challenges our world is facing.<\/p>\n
I also commend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its long-standing support for cutting-edge research on this critical issue for humanity.<\/p>\n
We can all agree that our world is in multiple crises \u2013 our central focus is on how to emerge from them.
If we want to tackle the crises, our decisions must be guided by science-based evidence.
Our actions should be driven by scientific solutions \u2013 such as those provided by the awardees today.<\/p>\n
Nowhere are these actions more needed than on the question of water.<\/p>\n
As you know, climate change is appearing to us \u2013 and hitting us \u2013 primarily as a water crisis.<\/p>\n
The recent COP27 made, for the first time, direct references to water in the final declaration.<\/p>\n
This represents a long overdue breakthrough for water in climate action. <\/p>\n
In another important development, the stakeholder consultations that I convened in October, where over 1,200 representatives from the scientific community and other actors came up with several \u201cgame-changers\u201d.<\/p>\n
These are ideas that have the potential to transform policies and translate today\u2019s water commitments into tomorrow\u2019s reality.<\/p>\n
The next big event on water action will be the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Water Conference in March.<\/p>\n
It will be a vital opportunity to move beyond reactive water management to coming up with proactive steps in our struggle with the water crisis.<\/p>\n
I encourage you all to add your important perspectives to the transformation ahead of us.<\/p>\n
Along with these ideas, the pioneering materials, methods and models developed by today\u2019s awardees, are changing how we approach water challenges in the future.<\/p>\n
Yes, it will be a long and difficult journey \u2013 but we have no other option if we want to reach our destination: sustainability.<\/p>\n
I thank you.<\/p>\n
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13 December 2022 (PRE-RECORDED) \u00a0 Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, I convey my heartfelt congratulations to this year\u2019s recipients of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prizes for Water. Your groundbreaking […]<\/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