Remarks by the President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly,
Mr. Philemon Yang
International Day of the Arabic Language
9 December 2024
(As delivered by Ms. Blanca Montejo, Deputy Chef de Cabinet)
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Your Excellency, Dr Abdulaziz Alwasil, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
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al salam aleikum.
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On behalf of the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Philemon Yang, I express my sincere appreciation to the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language, for the kind invitation to join you in celebrating World Arabic Language Day.
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It was on this day in 1973 that the General Assembly adopted Arabic as one of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ official languages, underscoring the importance of multilingualism in our multicultural, multilateral world.?
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Excellencies,
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As a son of Cameroon, H.E. Philemon Yang, a nation in which over 200 languages are spoken, I deeply value the cultural significance of every language.? While not an Arabic speaker himself, he recognizes and appreciates the rich history and cultural significance of this beautiful and poetic language.
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It is one that has evolved across millennia, shaping ¨C and shaped by ¨C the developments of entire ages.
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Today, nearly 400 million people are Arabic speakers. It transcends borders and binds together the history and cultures of peoples oceans apart.
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Arabic is the language of the Qura¡¯an and the language of poetry and arts.?
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It is a language of knowledge, of philosophy, and of science; one that gave us the numeric system we use today.
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I have also learned that it is a sophisticated language of deeply layered nuance whereby changing a single sound could change the entire meaning of a word or sentence.
Beyond its own usage, the roots of Arabic words can be found, today, in languages and cultures farther afield, from Spain and Portugal to the archipelagos of the Maldives, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
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I am pleased to join you in celebrating this treasure of humanity.
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Excellencies,
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While we are here to celebrate the Arabic language, we would be remiss if we did not also recognize the need to invest further in preserving Arabic and all other languages.
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The unfortunate reality is that advances in technology and connectivity, as great as they are, are threatening languages that have endured for millennia.
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Multilingualism is a gift that we must appreciate and protect.
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And the United Nations must take the lead in making that happen.
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I commend the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO) and other partners that have taken steps to prioritize multilingualism.
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I reiterate the need to fund multilingualism here at the United Nations in order to set the bar high.
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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ must be the standard-bearer of a true, multilingual world and that is only possible with adequate resources.
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This is why I have made multilingualism a key priority of my presidency and have recently established a dedicated task force within my office to advance this goal, dear to my own heart.
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This taskforce will advise me throughout the session on how we can better integrate multilingualism into the work of the 79th session of the General Assembly and into my office¡¯s activities.
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Excellencies,
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As we mark this International Day, let us celebrate the richness of the Arabic language and continue to appreciate its profound contribution to, and impact on, humanity.
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Shukran lakum
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