Role and Relevance of the UN in the Contemporary World Order

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73^rd Session of the UN General Assembly

22 January 2019 

Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chair of ISSI,

Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Director General of this very prestigious Institute,

Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations,

Authorities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Ambassadors, Dear Friends, Former Folleagues,

Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

It is a true pleasure to be here. I would like to thank the Institute, as well as the Government of Pakistan, for the opportunity to engage with you on an issue of such topical importance. Because, Director, I agree with you on what we are facing currently.

But I think I first need to acknowledge that over the past 45-years, the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad has emerged as a leader on issues of peace and security. Bringing together policymakers, scholars, and experts in dozens of fields of study, the Institute has positioned itself as a forum for multi-stakeholder dialogue and a champion of multilateralism. I applaud you for your leadership on these critical issues. And I consider it an honor to be amongst those who have spoken here previously.

Dear friends,

Before we begin our discussion, I would like to outline three brief points for you today. Some of them touch on the questions that were already asked by Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.

First, I would like to reflect on the current global context, noting the challenges to the international community; the challenges to the UN and to the multilateral system as a whole;

Second, I would argue that the UN – and the multilateral approach for which it stands for – are essential to building and maintaining peace and security;

And third and finally, I would like to outline how, as President of the UN General Assembly, I intend to strengthen the UN’s approach to this critical issue.

First, in terms of the current global context, the situation is… very complex, I would say, very convoluted, to say the least.

On the one hand, the international community faces numerous challenges to peace and security.

Environmental degradation and climate change are increasingly affecting health and livelihoods and have contributed to the displacement of millions of people. In 2017 alone, South Asia recorded 2.8m people that have suffered due to weather related displacement.

Unfortunately, Pakistan is not exempt from the effects of extreme weather conditions and is prone to heavy monsoons, floods and droughts, especially in the south of this country.

At the same time, conflicts, some triggered or exacerbated by climate impacts, as well as protracted conflicts, continue to detract from global resources and efforts for development. In the 2018/2019 fiscal year, the UN approved a Peacekeeping Operations budget for $6.7bn to be raised by Member States.

All told, The UN refugee agency states that, for 2017, 68.5 million persons were forcibly displaced, with developing countries most affected. Indeed, 80% of global refugees are hosted by countries in the developing world.

These of course have led to significant humanitarian needs. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has projected that in 2019 over 132 million people in 42 countries will require humanitarian assistance, including protection that would require global humanitarian funding for $22 billion.

One of the major challenges that define our world is rising inequalities. As harsh as it is to accept, we live in a world where some have billions while the majority struggle to make ends meet. Mobility, which was taken for granted decades ago, has virtually stalled for the majority of people.

And here I would like to cite a report that came out from Oxfam – the Annual Inequality Report – where it states that the world’s richest 26 persons own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. So this is the very touching, disturbing inequality situation around the world.

Therefore, addressing inequalities and structural gaps offer a range of benefits, from an increased tax base that can be funneled back into education, healthcare and social services; to diversified economies that spark innovation and further job growth.

I also saw with great interest a programme that Pakistan has developed for the creation of 10 million new jobs, the majority of them for young people. The demographics of this country tells us that above 60% of the population are young people. So, the challenge to provide good jobs and quality education is a tremendous challenge that is being addressed in a serious and committed manner. 

It is indeed a win-win cycle that empowers women, men and youth; eases social tensions; and improves the standard of living across the board. The cost of exclusion is not restricted to countries; we have seen its effect on the many issues that divide countries and threaten peace and security around the globe.

Above all, the insecurities and anxieties they provoke have been exploited by authoritarian populists who ride on the back of messages of anger, hatred and exclusion, to power-and seek to scapegoat the very multilateral system and institutions that hold the potential for transforming a world in crisis.    

At the very time that the international community should be pulling together, we are seeing a fracturing of the international order and disparate approaches to addressing global challenges.

The global systems, norms, and institutions that have carried us since the end of the Second World War are being questioned or, in the worst of cases, sidelined outright as some countries forego multilateralism for a go-it-alone approach.

This is an unfortunate and unsustainable approach.

Centuries of global conflict and strife have taught us that the world is better when nations work together.

The institutions and systems that were born out of the ashes of World War II, including the United Nations, have allowed our societies to flourish. Through shared responsibility and accountability, shared burdens and costs, we have helped to reduce, if not abolish, inter-state war, and have seen significant reductions in famine and poverty coupled with massive gains in development and the protection of human rights.

That is not to say that things are perfect, nor that the UN has an impeccable record, far from it, but it is clear that addressing these issues as a united group of nations offers much more promise of success and sustainability.

Because however one may feel, the option for isolationism is no longer on the table – technology, trade and globalization have altered the shape of our world; today’s prosperity, peace and security at home cannot be separated from events beyond our borders.

Geopolitical tensions, growing inequality, terrorism, cybersecurity, nuclear weapons, climate change, and humanitarian and migratory crises cannot be solved by any single country alone, nor can they be ignored and left to others to solve. Global threats are shared, so too must be the solutions to them.

This brings me to my second point: the role of the United Nations and multilateralism in supporting peace and security.

Friends, the single best way to mitigate rising threats is to pursue dialogue and to strengthen multilateralism. The international community must be fully committed to the principles of engagement and cooperation, that’s what multilateralism stands for.

Multilateralism, through dialogue, negotiation and international cooperation, provides the most suitable platform to discuss and reach agreements in search of a common understanding.

The founders of the UN knew this. Horrified by the atrocities of the Second World War, they codified the critical role of multilateralism in the Charter of the UN. In doing so, they emphasized the need for the Organization to support efforts that maintain international peace and security, protect human rights, promote social well-being, and uphold the rule of law.

The international community, through dialogue and concerted efforts, has made remarkable gains in peacekeeping, peacebuilding, human rights, women peace and security, youth peace and security, and climate action. Both the Paris Agreement on climate change and Agenda 2030’s Sustainable Development Goals stand as testament to what the world can deliver when called upon to do so. We need more of this, not less.

And while there are many instances of the UN struggling to deliver on its goals and objectives, we have learned from these challenges and continue to improve how we work and how we support those in need.

It is for these reasons that I am fully committed, during my presidency, to advocate and help preserve multilateralism in all its forms and at all levels.

And this brings me to my third and final point – how I intend to support multilateralism and strengthen global efforts to address peace and security.

Above all else the people of the world expect the UN to deliver and to work for them, to protect them, and to be there in their time of need.

It is obvious that our world today is undergoing tremendous transformations, changing the nature of work, trade and finance, social security and even our relationship with technology and information as well as our sense of what it means to be a citizen of the 21^st century.

Responding to this feeling of dislocation and disempowerment and the futile rejection of an ever-interdependent world requires more multilateralism and global cooperation to address every facet of our modern life. It requires greater efforts to eliminate exclusion and promote inclusion, tolerance, cooperation.

Promoting inclusion and benefiting from its impact on national wealth requires action with respect to a number of priorities. The priorities that I have outlined for the 73^rd session of the General Assembly: the empowerment of women and youth; decent work; persons with disabilities and youth, peace and security.

Given your focus on gender issues and gender-based violence let me make brief remarks on the need to empower women and youth. The commitment to the inclusion of women and youth, one of the key objectives of multilateralism, is critical both for the success of the peace and security agenda and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Our common interest in sustaining peace and responding effectively to global challenges, and this means that we should promote international cooperation to address inequality, exclusion and alienation. We must therefore collectively work towards empowering women and youth, including through greater economic opportunities, decent work, political participation, social protection and in peace processes.

Linked to this is the urgency of a global policy dialogue on decent work and addressing inequalities, which is included in Agenda 2030 through SDG 8 on “Promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.  We all should have an interest in each country being able to invest in their citizens and to leverage both new technologies as well as changes in the job market to create the 600 million new jobs needed by 2030.

My final point relates to the need for a greater, more coordinated approach within the UN system itself, to address international peace and security issues.

Global challenges require global solutions, and there is no body or entity more representative or emblematic of global cooperation and multilateralism than the United Nations, and I think we all agree on that. We must continue to foster mutually reinforcing and coordinated efforts amongst the main organs of the United Nations to boost and uphold multilateralism. The General Assembly, the Security Council, and other UN organs and entities all play crucial roles, complementary roles, within their respective mandates, in fostering international peace and security.

In closing, let me emphasize that multilateralism does not represent, in any sense, a threat to sovereignty or to national interests of Member States. I think we have heard a lot of that, either you care for the national interest of your people, or you are an actor in the international community and an architect of a strong and efficient multilateral system; both can go hand-in-hand. In fact, multilateralism offers the only way to address the complex challenges that no country could ever overcome on its own.

We need to push harder towards an effective framework for global governance if we wish to successfully tackle today’s challenges. Political solutions and international cooperation are needed not just to prevent, reduce and end conflicts, but also to achieve a lasting and sustainable peace and prosperity for all.

I really thank you for helping to carry this message forward and I look forward to hearing your thoughts, your suggestions and your questions.

Thank you.