Making the United Nations Relevant to all People– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
20 May 2019
Your Excellency, Ms Darja Bavdaž Kuret, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations,
Ms Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Happy World Bee Day! I am pleased to join you here today. I hope the rest of the world will be able to join us, in spirit, through the special UN stamps produced for this occasion, which I understand will be the first that one can “scratch and smell” – a lovely innovation.
I commend the Permanent Mission of Slovenia for initiating General Assembly Resolution 72/211 that designated 20 May as World Bee Day – the birthday of Slovenian beekeeping pioneer Anton Janša.
I also commend the Food & Agriculture Organization for its longstanding efforts to highlight the crucial role played by pollinators – bees but also beetles, butterflies, birds and bats – who propagate nearly three-quarters of the plants that produce 90 percent of the world’s food.
Bees support a staggering 170,000 species of plants that sustain over 200,000 animal species. They are responsible for roughly a third of all food produced. They make nutritious food, notably honey and royal jelly, of course – which are also used in medicines: both modern and traditional. And in doing all of this, they support millions of jobs, farms, businesses and communities around the world.
Whether you are talking about eradicating poverty, tackling hunger, protecting biodiversity or boosting rural livelihoods – these tiny creatures play an outsize role in our efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
But about half of all bee species are thought to be in decline. Five percent are thought to be endangered. Across the world, colonies have been collapsing and bee numbers dwindling due to factors including pollution, pesticides, urbanization, climate change and the global trade in low-quality honey.
So what can we do? As states, we must ensure that the global biodiversity framework to be adopted in Beijing next year really does put us on the path to “living in harmony with nature”. As individuals, we can take action in our daily lives, from setting up a nesting box to buying honey from local beekeepers.
Whether you are talking about eradicating poverty, tackling hunger, protecting biodiversity or boosting rural livelihoods – these tiny creatures play an outsize role in our efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Dear friends,
As summer finally seems upon us, I encourage you visit the North Lawn and look at the bee hut donated by Slovenia on the first World Bee Day.
And I encourage you to support global efforts, and the work of the FAO and wider UN system, to protect one of the world’s most important creatures.
Thank you.
