Remarks by the President of the 78th session of the General Assembly,??
Mr. Dennis Francis,??
At the Nizami Ganjavi International Center
21 September, 2023
Your Excellencies, members of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center,
Your Excellencies, former Presidents of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You honor me today by inviting my participation in this esteemed conference and so I am humbled and at the same time lifted to have the opportunity to engage this forum on issues that in significant measure will shape our world in the future.?
The Nizami Ganjavi International Center is broadly regarded as a convenor of some of the most influential persons in international affairs. Allow me, therefore, to take pause to acknowledge and indeed pay homage to my senior Colleagues from the alumni of the Presidency of the General Assembly – who will take part in the next panel discussion.
I have full confidence that my predecessors will enrich the discussions at this conference as they are among a select few who have a better, more insightful grasp of what we truly need to do to reestablish a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-led multilateral system that is fit for purpose, to address the common challenges that currently confront us, and indeed those ahead.?
While I am here to speak to you about the 78th session ¨C and the meaningful reforms that are very much needed within the United Nations and across the multilateral world ¨C I hope too to benefit from the collective wisdom of those of you here today.
Colleagues,
I will begin by noting the watchwords that underpin the theme I have identified for the 78th session of the General Assembly: peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability.
I carefully chose these words specifically in the context of the immense challenges we face ¨C and because they are at once the goals and ideals that we must all work towards as they are in jeopardy.?
While the world yearns for peace and sustainable progress, we are regrettably being dragged back and restricted by geopolitical and environmental crises that are undermining decades of hard-worn development progress and the general mood of confidence that accompanied it.
COVID-19. Climate change. War. Inequality. Poverty. Famine.
These cascading crises are pushing people into cynicism and despair; they are eroding the progress made across each and every one of the Sustainable Development Goals.?
And they undermine faith in the integrity and credibility of multilateralism and of the United Nations.?
Colleagues,?
While Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ reform has been a hot topic for a long time, it is reaching a crescendo whereby everyone ¨C in every sector, across every country ¨C is now demanding and recognizing the value of change.
As also evidenced by some of the responses received from our global citizens during a survey conducted by the Secretary-General in the lead up to the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, they would like to see more coming from the organization.
They are tired of outdated structures with uneven power balances; of political grandstanding and megaphone diplomacy over genuine results-oriented dialogue.
These concerns have become all the more pronounced in the context of the war against Ukraine ¨C with one prominent member ¨C in this case the initiator of the war ¨C vetoing any effort of the Security Council to perform its primary responsibilty of maintaining international peace and security. ?
Colleagues,
We do not dismiss the crisis of credibility, and we can only address it with meaningful reforms.
And this is not without precedent. Indeed, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and its constituent principal organs and subsidiary bodies are consistently evolving.
For instance, 22 years ago, this very city of New York and the whole world were rocked by the 9/11 attacks. Since then, we have created a global counter-terrorism strategy.?
The effects of climate change are ravaging vulnerable nations and communities around the world. We created the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Framework Convention on Climate Change.?
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We recognised that sustaining peace is not an event, but a broad continuum requiring sustained buy-in and commitment from a range of actors. We responded by creating the Peacebuilding Commission.
So the fear of constant change and adaptation of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ institutions ¨C for whatever reason ¨C cannot be the reason for some to obstruct reforms. ?
While these evolutions are welcome, we all know that the Security Council is the ¡¯elephant in the room¡¯.?
The reality is that each time a veto is cast and action is not taken to save lives, the credibility of that body ¨C and of the entire Organization ¨C suffers. More importantly, the vulnerable people who rely on us for help and relief, suffer.?
Reform of the Security Council has therefore become emblematic of reform of the entirety of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ.?
Member States understand this ¨C and continue to voice their concerns throughout the General Debate including during the ongoing High-Level Week.?
Their concerns are not borne of jealousy or greed, but are in fact a call for equity, and fair and just international systems; for recognition that the world has evolved and the Security Council must evolve alongside it.
Of course, that is easier said than done, and without amendments to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter and ratification, comprehensive reform will prove challenging.
Challenging, but not impossible. Indeed, innovations are possible ¨C and there is always a one per cent possibility.?
The Veto Initiative is a strong case in point. This initiative has opened the door for increased transparency and accountability of the Security Council to the General Assembly.?
It was a truly groundbreaking initiative that has been activated five times now in just 18 months. This speaks to how important this precedent is in the long term.
As President, I am committed to supporting any and all initiatives from Member States to advance the discussions for further innovation at the General Assembly and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ.?
I therefore challenge you to generate any ideas at this conference which can take the Veto Initiative a further step forward.?
Excellencies, and Dear Colleagues,
Beyond the Security Council, few areas are as fundamental to the credibility of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and our multilateral system as that of reforming the international financial architecture.
The system put in place decades ago has also not evolved to address the challenges of today ¨C particularly the deprivation of an equal voice from the Global South and the impediments holding back development gains.
We see this in the inability of countries in special situations to access the very funding needed to deliver quality education, or healthcare, or clean energy, or any one of the 17 SDGs.?
We see this in the entrentched reluctance to redistribute the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to benefit the countries that need urgent support to cope with the growing pressure on their economies.
Indeed, for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, the very resources that they need to deliver progress ¨C especially on the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs ¨C are being held up in red tape or are simply too expensive to access.?
This has a domino effect, chilling investment opportunities and leaving the Global South persistently locked out of private financing.
This is exacerbating the divide between developed and developing nations, with the international financial architecture being one of systemic and structural inequity.?
This opens the door to instability and a myriad of other crises, and diminishes the solidarity and unity we so desperately need to address our collective crises.?
Colleagues,?
If our collective ambition is to truly leave no one behind, then we need the finanicial backing to achieve that.
Put simply, the international financial institutions must be restructured to prevent further deterioration and destabilization of economies, and to build a more transparent and equitable global economic governance system.
Excellencies, dear colleagues,
Each one of us in this room understands that the challenges we face are global in nature, necessitating a global response through a robust Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-led multilateral system.
History has taught us that we do not do so well when guided by isolationist, nationalistic, or go-it-alone approaches. Here I want to refer once again to the African proverb that says: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ?
But for multilateralism to work in the twenty-first Century, it cannot be the multilateralism of 1945; institutions need to adapt to the world they are supposed to serve. Neither can it be a multilateralism designed for others and against others.?
As I have said many times: when the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ was formed, my country, along with many of my peers, did not exist as an independent and sovereign state.?
The number of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Member States has swollen in the last seven decades ¨C and the challenges we face have equally evolved time and again; each time becoming more interconnected, more tightly woven across borders and sectors; and importantly, very complex.?
It is imperative that we find a way to speed up reform that is, to date, frustratingly slow.?
I encourage each one of you to advocate for this, and to put forward ideas during your conference that can help to move us in the right direction.?
And most of all, we need to remain hopeful. There are enough cynics, spoilers, and skeptics in the world, impugning progress.?
We cannot allow them to stall progress. We must push forward. In the words of Nizami Ganjavi, ¡°In the hour of adversity be not without hope, for crystal rain falls from black clouds¡±.
I pledge to support all efforts in this regard, and I am committed to an open-door policy for anyone who would offer constructive solutions to the challenges we face.
I thank you.?