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\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Remarks by Dennis Francis, President of the 78th session of the General Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n 13 September 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n [As delivered]<\/strong><\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres,<\/p>\n Excellency Ishikane Kimihiro and your dear spouse,<\/p>\n Under-Secretary-General Melissa Fleming,<\/p>\n Deputy Secretary-General<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Distinguished guests,<\/p>\n It is an honour to join you in commemorating the International Day of Peace.<\/p>\n Let me begin by congratulating His Excellency Kimihiro and the Permanent Mission of Japan for maintaining the observance of this esteemed tradition \u2013 and in so doing, underlining the significance of this Day.<\/p>\n This year, we gather under the theme of \u201cActions for Peace: Our Ambition for the Global Goals.\u201d<\/p>\n It is one that is as timely as it is solemn.<\/p>\n I have chosen \u201cpeace\u201d as one of the four priorities of my Presidency of the General Assembly, reflecting its bedrock importance to the 2030 Agenda and the aims of prosperity, progress and sustainability.<\/p>\n With the SDG Summit only days, alarm bells are sounding off across the world \u2013 alerting us that we are off track in meeting nearly every Sustainable Development Goal.<\/p>\n In some cases, we are moving in reverse.<\/p>\n Symbolically, these ringing bells also constitute a call to urgent action \u2013 bold action to save, and indeed to deliver, the SDGs<\/p>\n We know that sustainable development \u2013 and sustainable peace \u2013 are two sides of the same coin.<\/p>\n One cannot be realised without the other.<\/p>\n It is therefore no surprise that many countries in fragile situations \u2013 or in post-conflict settings \u2013 have fallen furthest behind on achieving the SDGs.<\/p>\n We know that when poverty persists,<\/p>\n – when education is denied,<\/p>\n – when women and girls face abuse, violence, and discrimination or<\/p>\n – when climate shocks rip through nations in the blink of an eye,<\/p>\n the potential for conflict and instability only rise.<\/p>\n In turn, when investments are made in sustainable development, climate action, gender equality and women\u2019s empowerment, and evidence-based youth policies \u2013 they provide our most powerful tools to prevent \u2013 and to preempt \u2013 conflict, and to build peace.<\/p>\n Dear friends,<\/p>\n The SDGs are often called \u201cour shared blueprint for humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n Now is our moment for action.<\/p>\n At next week\u2019s SDG Summit, let us take an honest look at where we stand.<\/p>\n Let us stop sugarcoating our successes and instead confront our setbacks with bold, ambitious commitments.<\/p>\n The Summit is our best opportunity to boost SDG implementation at all levels \u2013 and spark accelerated action for peace.<\/p>\n The wish of the Peace Bell founder was simple and clear: \u201cNo more wars.\u201d<\/p>\n Sadly, our generation has not met this aspiration.<\/p>\n But it is not too late to start turning the tide.<\/p>\n Let us use this International Day as our clarion call to action.<\/p>\n And as we ring the Bell today, let us heed the call of the founder.<\/p>\n Let us recommit to the SDGs.<\/p>\n Let us recommit to a world where peace and security are a reality for all.<\/p>\n I thank you.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 Remarks by Dennis Francis, President of the 78th session of the General Assembly 13 September 2023 [As delivered] Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Excellency Ishikane Kimihiro and your dear spouse, […]<\/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":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-272349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n