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23 December 2022<\/b><\/p>\n
Thank you very much Mr. Chairman<\/p>\n
And many, many thanks to all of you for having this opportunity. You may guess there are two reasons for my being here tonight.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, to thank you all for the work done so far.<\/p>\n
The second reason: to encourage you to do the remaining work in the remaining time.<\/p>\n
This Committee has successfully worked together to pass very important decisions during the session and in the past couple of days as well, starting from funding the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAMA), revised estimates on global food security for 2022-2023 and many important details in the last couple of days.<\/p>\n
I would like to encourage you to keep up the excellent momentum and to work together to the end, on time.<\/p>\n
My understanding is that there is a basis for political compromise.<\/p>\n
There is a basis for creating consensus on the main issues.<\/p>\n
Now is time to make the remaining part of the compromise \u2013 it\u2019s time to make it happen at the level of the implementation.<\/p>\n
I hereby ask the Secretariat to keep standing by you, helping you \u2013 even if negotiations would end at a very late night.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure you are prepared to do your part of the work throughout the night.<\/p>\n
We are only one day away from Christmas Eve, though I\u2019m fully aware it may not be a big event for all of you, but for some of you it is. And it is vital for the Committee to conclude its deliberations before that.<\/p>\n
I encourage all of you, all Member States, to focus on the pending issues, if possible, not to open, not to reopen the ones which have been successfully reached jointly.<\/p>\n
This Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) plays a key role in upholding the reputation of this Organization, the credibility and the reputation, to ensure that the finances are managed in a fully accountable, transparent and efficient manner. I think that is a shared goal of us.<\/p>\n
Transformation \u2013 what we all would like to see in this Organization, in this world \u2013 transformation has started already. And it is underway. It is up to us to make sure that it will turn, and it will go to the right direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This Organization, and those people depending on this Organization, will look upon you. Their fate, their near future, will depend on how you decide.<\/p>\n
I will remain on standby. I will be here to provide all support, what we can, from my Office, from myself, to expedite the Committee\u2019s conclusion.<\/p>\n
I truly hope that the hours, the night ahead of us, maybe tomorrow morning, if necessary, the time will be sufficient to find the bridges and I\u2019m sure you are in the best hands.<\/p>\n
I have full trust in the Chairman of this Committee, Ambassador Philippe Kridelka (Belgium), and I have full trust in the bureau of the Fifth Committee. And the whole membership has high hopes and full trust in all of you.<\/p>\n
So, thank you much indeed. And many, many thanks for the energy you have invested already, and you are going to invest, in the shared work.<\/p>\n
Now is the moment, we can make a good result.<\/p>\n
Thank you much indeed.<\/p>\n
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23 December 2022 Thank you very much Mr. Chairman And many, many thanks to all of you for having this opportunity. You may guess there are two reasons for my […]<\/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