{"id":291282,"date":"2026-01-23T12:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/?p=291282"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:04:23","slug":"pga-remarks-at-ecosoc-at-80-commemoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/2026\/01\/23\/pga-remarks-at-ecosoc-at-80-commemoration\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA Remarks at ‘ECOSOC at 80’ Commemoration"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Remarks by the President of the General Assembly\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock<\/strong><\/p>\n

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at ‘ECOSOC at 80’ Commemoration <\/strong><\/p>\n

United Nations, ECOSOC Chamber<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

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Friday, 23 January 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

[As\u00a0delivered]<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr. Secretary-General,<\/p>\n

Ambassador Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the Economic and Social Council,<\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

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Eighty years ago, the founders of our United Nations came together with a shared purpose: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.<\/p>\n

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But they also understood something profoundly important: that the maintenance of international peace and security could not be sustained by the absence of armed conflict alone.<\/p>\n

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They knew that lasting and sustainable peace must be built on stable, flourishing societies\u2014 where every person has the right to live with dignity and the opportunity to fulfil their potential.<\/p>\n

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They saw firsthand how conflict deepens hunger and poverty, driving people from their homes and livelihoods and, in turn, fuelling further instability\u2014leaving human rights by the wayside.<\/p>\n

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Just imagine a mother\u2014consumed by the worry of how to feed her children, too preoccupied to fight for her freedom of speech or opinion.<\/p>\n

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For what is free speech if there is no food on the table?<\/p>\n

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From this insight grew a conviction now enshrined in our Charter: that peace, development, and human dignity and human rights are inseparable.<\/p>\n

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Delivering on these social and economic goals is therefore not only a moral imperative for those they are designed to serve; it is also a matter of enlightened self-interest.<\/p>\n

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It is an investment in stability, resilience, and security in a world that is too often defined by crisis.<\/p>\n

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This conviction found its institutional home in the Economic and Social Council \u2014 entrusted with a bold mandate: to promote international cooperation on economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related issues as pillars of peace.<\/p>\n

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Over the past eight decades, this mandate has been translated into concrete action \u2014 and measurable progress \u2014 on social and economic development.<\/p>\n

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