Address to Third Committee – Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues

– As delivered –

Address by H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72^nd Session of the UN General Assembly, to the Third Committee – Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues

Excellency,

let me first congratulate you and your bureau on being elected to lead this Committee. With one week down, you are well underway.

I am particularly pleased to address the Third Committee because so much of the work you are doing directly impacts people. A focus on people is as you know a priority for me.

This is not to say of course that the rest of the United Nations does not work on people’s issues. But just look at your agenda – human rights, advancement of women’s rights, rights of children, youth, indigenous people, persons with disability, refugees, migrants. All people.

Your work is fundamental to ensuring that we, as the United Nations, impact people where and how they need it most.

This Committee has a great potential to make a real difference in the lives of people.

As you discuss development and human rights, I encourage you to reach beyond entrenched positions. Instead, we can all seek to better understand each other and to devise solutions.

I’d like to speak about three issues.

First, the Committee’s work on Human Rights.

Promoting respect for human rights is an overarching principle of our work. Human rights are the foundation on which our collective efforts to advance human development and create peace are built. Human rights violations are often at the root of conflicts. On the other hand, upholding them contributes to conflict prevention and sustaining peace.

We should recognize the equal importance of civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. States have an obligation to uphold and protect all human rights of all people without discrimination.

We have a duty to address violations when and where they occur. I hope the Committee will not turn a blind eye to the situations which people face around the world today.

Secondly, is the Committee’s work on development issues.

Let us remember that human rights and development are mutually reinforcing. Addressing both, leads us to our goal of upholding human dignity and promoting people’s well-being.

The implementation of the 2030 Agenda is now in its second year. People face serious social and humanitarian challenges in the quest for sustainable development. Let us reflect these realities in our deliberations. But also, let us look for real answers in our resolutions.

As a Gender Champion, I look forward to the Committee’s deliberations and outputs on the advancement of women. We must continue to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. This is a key tool to achieve sustainable development.

The SDGs have people at the centre. In this Committee, you have the main responsibility to keep us focused on the social dimensions of sustainable development. In this way, countries can better work towards keeping the commitments we made to our people in 2015.

My last point is on Working Methods, and here, I want to commend this Committee for its recent improvements of working methods. I welcome the efforts to make the work of the Committee more effective and produce better results.

I know this Committee has a heavy workload. Coming from a small state myself, I am keenly aware of the burden carried by small delegations. Congratulations on your efforts to make the work more manageable for all.

Fortunately, I also do not need to remind this Committee to conclude its work on time. I know you will be done by Thanksgiving.

Dear colleagues,

I understand one of your recent improvements is the strict adherence to speaking time. So, before my microphone cuts, let me just thank all the delegates for their hard work to advance the development and human rights agenda.

Deliberations in this Committee may not always be easy but they are essential. I encourage you to maintain that spirit of dialogue and consensus in your work.

I wish you a successful session.

Thank you.