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24 January 2023<\/b><\/p>\n
Dear Friends,<\/p>\n
Special Adviser,<\/p>\n
Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\n
I am honored to participate in this ECOSOC initiative \u2013 and to continue the tradition of \u201cfirsts\u201d between our two Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter bodies.<\/p>\n
Speaking of firsts, ECOSOC was the\u00a0first<\/u>\u00a0in 1946 to draft an international treaty on genocide.<\/p>\n
The General Assembly then adopted the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, providing the first legal definition of this crime.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the GA marked another\u00a0first<\/u>\u00a0\u2013 the International Day for Countering Hate Speech \u2013 taking a stand against an accelerant to genocide: the unchecked advocacy of hatred, particularly through social media.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s program offers a unique opportunity for Member States to define measures that can\u00a0prevent<\/u>\u00a0atrocity crimes.<\/p>\n
Dear Colleagues,<\/p>\n
We know all too well that genocide refers to acts committed with the intent to destroy \u2013 in whole or in part \u2013 a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.<\/p>\n
And we know from sad experience that it is a gradual process \u2013 the \u201ctragic fulfillment of a program of intolerance,\u201d\u00a0as it was put in the Nuremberg statement.<\/p>\n
The first warning signal that connects two-thousand years of genocide is in the words of Simon Wiesenthal: \u201cToo much power in too few hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hate speech, dehumanization of \u201cthe others\u201d and recurrent violations of their rights are all\u00a0precursors<\/u>\u00a0to mass atrocities \u2013 the \u201ccanaries in the coal mine,\u201d so to speak.<\/p>\n
By now we should know that it is usually an explosive mixture of limited resources and the \u201cus versus them\u201d propaganda that detonates societies.<\/p>\n
Dear friends,<\/p>\n
Like a weed, genocide has roots in discrimination and artificially aggregated ethnic, religious or social differences.<\/p>\n
The seedling of genocide breaks\u00a0through<\/u>\u00a0when the rule of law breaks\u00a0down<\/u>.<\/p>\n
Preventing genocide requires pulling out its roots.<\/p>\n
It requires protecting communities at risk \u2013 including minorities and\u00a0especially<\/u>\u00a0women and girls, who are\u00a0always<\/u>\u00a0the first to suffer.<\/p>\n
It requires championing inclusion and promoting economic justice.<\/p>\n
It requires making and building peace.<\/p>\n
Because all conflicts are the greatest man-made obstacles in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,\u201d as the saying goes.<\/p>\n
Education holds a key to transformative change.<\/p>\n
By fostering an environment of coexistence, mutual respect, tolerance and cooperation, education can buffer societies against the threat of violent extremism.<\/p>\n
It can shift mindsets\u00a0away<\/u>\u00a0from blaming \u201cthe others\u201d for all that is wrong in societies.<\/p>\n
Dear Colleagues,<\/p>\n
We have heard \u201cnever again\u201d too many times.<\/p>\n
A failure measured in lives lost.<\/p>\n
Let us\u00a0learn<\/u>\u00a0from the policies that fomented the horrors of the Holocaust \u2013 and tragedies in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.<\/p>\n
It is incumbent on us\u00a0all<\/u>\u00a0\u2013 across the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ \u2013 to engage with community and faith leaders, indigenous peoples, civil society, the private sector, academia, the media and others and to define\u00a0transformative<\/u>\u00a0solutions<\/u>.<\/p>\n
There is a reason the 2030 Agenda\u00a0explicitly<\/u>\u00a0includes the reduction of all forms of violence.<\/p>\n
By making full use of the Voluntary National Reviews, Member States can help each other identify areas or opportunities to fulfil the SDGs and to hold each other accountable.<\/p>\n
It must be clear that impunity takes us\u00a0all<\/u>\u00a0further away from peaceful, just and inclusive societies.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0urge<\/u>\u00a0you to keep this in mind as we prepare for the SDG Summit in September and the Summit of the Future in 2024.<\/p>\n
And especially\u00a0 encourage you to use today\u2019s deliberations to inform negotiations on the Global Digital Compact.<\/p>\n
As the saying goes, we will be judged in years to come by how we respond to genocide on our watch.<\/p>\n
The question will one day be asked: What did we do in 2023 to ensure genocide was prevented?<\/p>\n
Let us answer again with a first \u2013 that we took a step, together, to end it.<\/p>\n
I thank you.<\/p>\n
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24 January 2023 Dear Friends, Special Adviser, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to participate in this ECOSOC initiative \u2013 and to continue the tradition of \u201cfirsts\u201d between our two […]<\/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