{"id":289969,"date":"2025-10-10T11:38:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/?p=289969"},"modified":"2025-10-10T11:38:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:38:25","slug":"pga-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-third-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/2025\/10\/10\/pga-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-third-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA Remarks at the Opening of the Third Committee"},"content":{"rendered":"
Remarks by the President of the General Assembly, Address to the Third Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n 10 October 2025<\/strong> Good morning,<\/p>\n Your Excellency Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Permanent Representative of Thailand, Chair of the Third Committee<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Permanent Representatives,<\/p>\n Distinguished delegates, including youth delegates joining us today,<\/p>\n And also experts from capitals,<\/p>\n Good to see you all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Allow me first to congratulate you, Mr. Chair, as well as the Bureau Members, on your election to guide the work of the Third Committee during the 80th Session of the General Assembly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The work of the Third Committee lies at the heart of our United Nations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This Organisation was not only created to end war and advance development, but also to uphold human dignity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To prevent humanity from hell.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Together, these three pillars form the foundational principles of this Institution.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948 \u2013 three short years after the Charter itself \u2013 it was a testament to the ability of our founders to overcome divides and coalesce behind fundamental human rights and freedoms, for all peoples and all nations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You, delegates of the Third Committee, are entrusted with carrying this legacy forward.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we all know, the Third Committee covers a wide range of issues: from the advancement of women to the rights of refugees; from youth and family to crime prevention and adherence to international legal obligations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The decisions and resolutions you forge here impact all of humanity:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To them, resolutions are not just words on paper, they can be life-changing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your work here is not abstract. It is real.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It matters every day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But we know we still have a long way to go.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Human rights are under assault globally:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And as we heard during the High-Level Meeting on the 30th<\/sup> Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, gender equality has been successful all over the world but still remains unrealized and backlash against women\u2019s rights is increasing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not even speaking about the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan, which to my point of view, we could call a femicide.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I encourage you all to participate actively in the interactive dialogue, because we know that the United Nations is Better Together when the voices of all men and women are heard.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And I encourage you to do this, standing up for human rights, development, our legal obligation even further, with self-confidence, and maybe even pride.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because without rights, without the rule of law, we would have chaos and anarchy in the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So standing up for human rights is a noble thing, because it is not only defending rights of individuals, it is about ensuring security for all of us.<\/p>\n As I said at the opening of the 80th<\/sup> Session of the General Assembly, we stand at a crossroads here at our United Nations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But we must not resign to cynicism but instead choose the right path and redouble our efforts to deliver on our commitments.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That includes implementing key rights-based agendas including the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the landmark Pact for the Future and its Declaration on Future Generations, which promised to \u201cenhance the full enjoyment of human rights and dignity for all\u2026[to] uphold freedom from fear and freedom from want for all\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But we will not be able to achieve these goals if we cannot overcome the political and financial headwinds facing this Organisation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, after the kind of easy part of my short introduction here, I would like to turn also to the maybe a bit nitty gritty, but the core issue of this 80th<\/sup> session: our reform process, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ80.<\/p>\n Because this session offers the opportunity to take a critical look at how we can fulfil these noble promises more effectively and efficiently.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Committees must ensure their work supports this collective renewal by aligning with the resolution on GA revitalization and the mandate review process to achieve meaningful efficiencies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That means reducing the frequency, length, and number of resolutions -yes also in this Committee – as the General Assembly requested.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It also means reviewing working methods and submitting concrete proposals to the General Committee.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I encourage you to ask yourself every time when drafting a new resolution:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is it just copy and paste? Or is every paragraph really essential?<\/p>\n Do we need an SG report when funding and capacity may be limited \u2013 or may not even exist?<\/p>\n We should really face the critics who say you produce really nice paper but you never implement.<\/p>\n So these resolutions and working methods should also be reflected in the sense, if we have new techniques and abilities of implementing them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this regard I urge all delegations and committees to actively engage in the ongoing Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ80 process and related reforms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because our work here is not only about the thematic content of resolutions but also strengthening the United Nations itself to fulfil its mandates.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In these challenging times, excellencies, it is more important than ever to overcome divides and find areas of unity to deliver for the people we serve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because we know that we are also facing fragmentations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And the good news is, you have already done so time and again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So I encourage each one of you here today to reach across the aisle and find areas of compromise again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Remembering\u2014the work you do here and the resolutions you adopt in this conference room will echo far beyond its four walls.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the Secretary-General stated, \u201cEach of us can make a difference in promoting peace, human rights, sustainable development, and lives of dignity for all.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So I\u2019m looking forward to working with all of you together, always remembering that we are Better Together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Remarks by the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock, Address to the Third Committee 10 October 2025 [As Delivered] Good morning, Your Excellency Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Permanent Representative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[81,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-289969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-speeches","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nH.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock,<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n[As Delivered]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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