It is a great honour to welcome
you to this renovated General Assembly Hall.
This great Hall is home to “we
the peoples”. It has been restored, renewed and reinvented for the 21st
century.
I thank all of you for making
it possible.
The Capital Master Plan was not
an easy project. But you, the Member States, embraced the vision. You made the
investment. Now we see the wonderful results: a state-of-the-art space in which
we shall work together to improve the state of the world.
We wanted to have, in fact, a
grand opening ceremony. Because of frugality and time we just wanted to have
this virtual opening ceremony.
In the name of all peoples and
all nations, I am now proud to officially declare this General Assembly Hall
open for business. Thank you. You saved a lot of money by having this virtual
opening ceremony. Thank you very much for understanding.
Every year at this time, hope
fills this hall: the hope embodied in the Charter of the United Nations; the
hopes of leaders who speak from this podium; the hopes of people across the
world who hear those promises.
This year, the horizon of hope
is darkened. Our hearts are made very heavy by unspeakable acts and the deaths
of innocents. Cold War ghosts have returned to haunt our times. We have seen so
much of the Arab Spring go violently wrong.
Not since the end of the Second
World War have there been so many refugees, displaced people and asylum
seekers. Never before has the United Nations been asked to reach so many people
with emergency food assistance and other life- saving supplies.
Diplomacy is on the defensive,
undermined by those who believe in violence.
Diversity is under assault by
extremists who insist that their way is the only way. Disarmament is viewed as
a distant dream, sabotaged by profiteers of perpetual warfare.
It may seem as if the world is
falling apart, as crises pile up and disease spreads. But leadership is
precisely about finding the seeds of hope and nurturing them into something
bigger. That is our duty. That is my call to you today.
It has been a terrible year for
the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. From barrel bombs to
beheadings, from the deliberate starvation of civilians to the assault on
hospitals, UN shelters and aid convoys, human rights and the rule of law are
under attack.
After the latest tragedy in
Gaza, Palestinians and Israelis seem more polarized than ever.
If we do not save the two-state
solution, we will be left in a state of permanent hostilities.
The situation in and around
Ukraine remains volatile.
In South Sudan, a struggle for
political power has killed thousands of people and exposed millions to the
threat of famine.
The Central African Republic is
fractured and traumatized.
Mali and the Sahel continue to
suffer from insurgency, terrorism, the illicit drug trade and organized crime.
In Somalia, a coalition of
African States confronts the terrorist group Al-Shabab.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram’s
murderous onslaught gains strength, with shocking impacts on women and girls.
In Iraq and Syria, we see new
depths of barbarity with each passing day, and devastating spill-over effects
across the region.
As Muslim leaders around the
world have repeatedly said, there is nothing Islamic about the terrorist
organizations wreaking havoc in the region. These extremist groups are a clear
threat to international peace and security that requires a multi- faceted
international response.
We need decisive action to stop
atrocity crimes and frank discussions on what created the threat in the first
place. The people of the region have been forced to walk on the broken shards
of bad governance and bad decisions that failed to respect international law
and basic human rights.
Across the world, the fragility
of States and institutions has never been more apparent. Some have been
hollowed out by corruption; others have pursued policies of exclusion that
drive the victims towards anger, despair and violence. States must uphold their
responsibility to govern – and govern for all their peoples.
Even where there is no overt
warfare, violence still mars lives. Men prey on women across the globe, from
battlefields to streets, from public spaces to the privacy of the home.
Migrants face increasingly perilous journeys — and closed doors upon arrival.
In many countries seen as
models of integration, divisive politics are on the rise. People are very good
at seeing prejudice in others, but less so in themselves. The trends that bring
people together – instant communications, free trade and ease of travel – are
also being exploited by forces that keep them apart.
The world’s “fasten seat belt”
light is illuminated. Turbulence is testing the multilateral system, national
institutions and people’s lives.
Human rights provide one
touchstone for our response. The Human Rights Up Front initiative aims to place
human rights at the centre of our thinking and our efforts in the field.
The
protection of nearly 100,000 people at UN bases throughout South Sudan has been
an early milestone of this new approach.
The international community
needs to be similarly sensitized to the value of human rights
as an
early warning mechanism. I urge Member States to fulfill their responsibilities
to their populations. States also need to be open to discussing their own
vulnerabilities. Let us recall that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
not only proclaims a set of freedoms; it also warns that people will not stand
idle if they are not protected.
We need to do far more to
anticipate problems and reach early political consensus.
To better meet the challenges
before us, I have called for a review of United Nations peace operations and
will appoint a high-level Review Panel in the coming weeks.
The unity of the Security
Council is crucial. When the Security Council acts as one, we see results, such
as the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons programme; agreement on a
peacekeeping operation for the Central African Republic; timely support for the
peace framework in the Great Lakes region of Africa.
By contrast, continued disunity
over Syria has resulted in grave human suffering and loss of credibility for
the Council and our institution.
The General Assembly must also
uphold its responsibilities and play its rightful role.
We must not let the smoke from
today’s fires blind us to longer-term challenges and opportunities.
Hope may be hard to discern,
but it is there. In clinics, classrooms and other places far from the
spotlight, the development agenda is making remarkable progress.
Global poverty, child mortality
and maternal deaths have been cut in half. More remains to be done, but these
and other gains show the power of the Millennium Development Goals and what we
can do when we work together.
Today an inspiring global
conversation is taking place on an agenda for the next 15 years.
Earlier this month, small
island developing states added their voices with the adoption of the Samoa
Pathway, a far-reaching plan for addressing their unique vulnerabilities.
Two days ago in this Hall, we
heard the appeals of the world’s indigenous peoples for an end to
marginalization.
That same day, world leaders
reaffirmed the importance of continuing to implement the ground-breaking
consensus of the Cairo conference on population and development.
The conversation for the future
we want has been one of the most inclusive efforts in United Nations history.
More than five million people have now voted in the My World survey. I
encourage millions more to log on and chime in.
What is emerging from our
dialogue is remarkable in its vision: a universal agenda, applying to all
countries; and a determination not to reduce but eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger, and to put all countries and communities on the path of truly
sustainable development.
The Open Working Group of the
General Assembly has placed before us a proposed set of Sustainable Development
Goals that will help us to complete the unfinished business of the MDGs,
overcome inequalities, protect the planet and build the future we want. At the
end of the year, at your request, I will provide a synthesis report that will
set the stage as Member States begin their negotiations.
Transformation is our goal. I
can think of no better place to start than with opening doors and shattering
ceilings for women and girls. Stereotypes continue to be deeply entrenched.
Look at any crisis — from poverty to disaster to disease to illiteracy — and
you will see women and girls suffering the most. We cannot fulfil 100 per cent
of the world’s potential by excluding 50 per cent of the world’s people.
Climate action is integral to
all our hopes. Three days ago in the streets of our host city, New York, I
joined hundreds of thousands of people in marching for a cleaner, greener
future. They sent a powerful message to the leaders — of their impatience but
also of opportunity.
Yesterday’s Climate Summit was
a landmark event. We saw a great coming together of countries, capital, CEOs
and citizens. Multi-stakeholder coalitions took unprecedented action to reduce
emissions, build resilience, and finance the transformation of our economies
and societies. We must convert this momentum into a meaningful, universal
climate agreement in Lima this December and in Paris next year. As one of the
banners in the march said, we have a duty to “do what must be done”.
Funding is crucial for the
credibility of the climate and post-2015 development efforts. Now is the time
to more properly match global wealth with global need. All resources, public
and private, domestic and international, need to be tapped. When budgets are
cut to the bone, people bleed. When resources are devoted to ever more
sophisticated arms instead of ever greater human potential, we are all less
secure.
Leadership is also about
getting our priorities straight, our policies right, and our investments
working for people. The next 15 months will be a defining period for global
prosperity and stability. I urge you to keep your ambitions high.
The outbreak of Ebola in West
Africa is an unprecedented crisis. That is why I have established an
unprecedented health operation — the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency
Response — to mobilize all the resources needed to reinforce the work being
done by the countries and communities affected.
The mission combines the
expertise of the World Health Organization with the logistical capacities of
the United Nations. UNMEER personnel arrived in Ghana two days ago to establish
the Mission’s headquarters. The international community is rallying to assist
local health workers.
Now we need a twenty-fold surge
in care, tracking, transport and equipment. Food security is a growing concern,
as food prices have gone up and food systems are in danger of breaking down.
We must also fight the virus of
fear and misinformation. Bans on travel or transport will not keep Ebola from
getting out, but will keep medical personnel and supplies from getting in.
We
need to isolate people affected by Ebola – but not the nations struggling to
cope with it.
With leadership and solidarity,
we can help the people of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone bring the outbreak
to an end and regain the path to a better future.
The world recently marked the
100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War.
Like so many conflicts, that
war started less from grand design than from small problems badly handled.
After the Second World War, the
founding of the United Nations was a feat of global resolve.
The post-war
planners were driven not only by the idea of “never again”, but by a vision of
what the world could be if we “unite our strength”.
Today, we face a profusion of
mounting challenges. People are crying out for protection from greed and
inequality. The United Nations must answer that call.
We are a century removed from
the First World War, and have 70 years of experience with the United Nations.
Yet the world is still not as peaceful as it could and as it should be.
Today we face far more man-made
crises than natural calamities. We may not control Mother Nature, but who else
but us is responsible for securing peace and justice in our world?
War. Poverty. Ignorance. Crises
caused by people can be stopped by people.
I do not think we can yet feel
comfortable about the world our generation is leaving to our children.
Still, I have hope. I draw it
from our Charter, our enduring guide in times of dramatic challenge and change.
I am continually inspired by
the staff, peacekeepers, humanitarian workers, human rights defenders and
others who bring our document, this Charter, to life.
Just as we have renovated this
great Hall for a new age, I look to you, Excellencies, Distinguished Heads of
State and Government, to rebuild leadership and restore unity of purpose. We
can tackle any challenge – and we will, as united nations.
I thank you for your
leadership. Thank you very much.
