As delivered
Statement by H.E. Peter Thomson, President of the 71st Session of the General Assembly, at High-Level Event on Human Security and its Contribution to Agenda 2030
7 July 2017, New York
Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Mr. Yukio Takasu, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Human Security,
H.E. Thomas Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission
Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to join you for today’s High-Level Event on “Human Security and its Contribution to Agenda 2030.”
I would like to thank my dear colleague Mr. Yukio Takasu and the co-sponsors of this event for the invitation to address you.
We meet today on the heels of a series of High-Level SDG Action Events convened by my office during the 71st session, all of which have sought to enhance momentum for implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
These events examined how sustainable peace, utilizing innovation, tackling climate change and taking new approaches to education and sustainable finance can strengthen our implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
As you are all well aware, next week a global network of SDG actors will be gathering here at the UN for the High Level Political Forum, to address the progress we are making and the areas where we need to step it up if we are to transform our world for the better by 2030.
As we will no doubt hear next week, and from my own experience thus far this session, it is clear that to realize the SDGs, we are going to have to pursue new ways of thinking, new ways of partnering and new ways of delivering on the ground.
We are going to have to examine the tools and systems we have developed over the decades and work out how to better align them with the vision for humanity and the planet that is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda.
This vision is captured in the heart of the report of the Secretary-General on repositioning the UN development system in light of the SDGs, which was presented to Member States earlier this week. For any that have yet to read it, I commend it to you as essential material for the road ahead.
Thus the timing and focus of today’s meeting is most welcome.
For some twenty years now, the concept of human security has encapsulated the aspirations of people to be free from fear, want and indignity. It has compelled us to consider the totality of conditions that leave people vulnerable, deny individuals the opportunities to reach their potential, and undermine our collective ability to achieve sustainable peace and development.
Human security provides us with a focused analytical lens and programming framework to aid the actions we are taking towards achieving the SDGs.
With its direct focus on people, the concept of human security finds in the SDGs an Agenda that is ultimately about creating the conditions – social, economic and environmental – in which humanity can flourish.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
The challenges we face today are complex and deeply inter-connected – ranging from the political to economic; from humanitarian to security; from migration to climate change. Therefore, in order for sustainable development to be fully achieved, greater integration of activities across the United Nations system, in partnership with others, is essential.
By building upon our combined resources and delivering on the ground, we are shaping conditions that will attain a more inclusive development characterized by sustaining peace and resilience.
As we move forward on this collective journey towards a better world for all, we will continue to forge better ways of working together, and we will take to heart the lessons learned from the vast range of experiences of the multilateral system. Events such as today’s are an important part of that process.
I am pleased to support the exercise of the collective wisdom and leadership of this High-Level event to further bolster commitments towards the realization of the noble aims of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Thank you.